Shells Undone, Hearts Respun
by DrSanjiZant
Summary: *UPDATED SUMMARY* "To become a Hunstman... finally..." These are the words of a teenager whose shell hides him both internally and externally. However, the powerful kindness of a Rose, as well as a wise cracking, caring, and powerful Blonde Brawler, will soon change his path. Will he lower that shield? And who will end up stealing his heart?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! Welcome to the newest story of my RWBY addiction, Shells Undone, Hearts Respun. Now, this is not going to replace RWBBY as my 'number one Update Fanfic.' No, I just needed to break off all the humour of Bran and his quest in love and becoming a Hunter to focus more on a different way of things. I mean, after a while, even my brain will run on nothing but fumes for a story! So, in order to prevent me from burning out too quickly, I am starting this story to be my relaxing and refreshing point.**

 **The OC of this story? Well, I COULD just spoil what he is... but that would be boring! Now, I did have a bit of help with the whole character development of the story. I do remember the reviews of how all the girls seemed to be more OOC. Well, I relied upon some people to help me keep this story MUCH better!**

 **As for the story line...**

 **I know, people will be mad, but I personally see Nora dating Ren... if he would speak up more and be a man! Good god, he is her total opposite, so where is the attraction? They might try to date in the series, but honestly, I doubt they would stick for real. Ruby, meanwhile, is just socially inept, but still a sweet and kind girl, just like Nora. Without the whole ADD thing going on for the Red head.**

 **Alright, I rambled enough. On to the story!**

Speech: "I'm a little tea pot"

Thoughts: **'** _Short and Stout'_

Angry Speech: **"This is my handle"**

Angry Thoughts **: _'This is my spout'_**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **New Arrivals**

Leaning on the edge of the window, his eyes glancing over the buildings with a frown, the hooded male crossed his arms as he sighed. His upper body was adorned in a black hoodie, head tucked back into the hood with a dark grey mask covering his mouth to further hide his face. Steel grey cargo pants hung off his waist, held up a midnight black belt, with the addition of a Black Widow belt buckle. He glanced at the leather gloves that hid every bit of his hands, his sleeves tucked in with the straps across his wrists tightened to hold them firmly in place. With a sigh, he crossed his arms and continued to think, as behind him, people chatted away.

"...To become a Huntsman…finally."

His voice was cool, quiet, and soft, holding the qualities of spun silk. He sighed as he contemplated what was to come, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. To travel from Vacuo to Vale, the change was very significant. No longer was the sun blazing upon his pale skin. No longer did it burn his eyes with its harsh rays. Now it was gentle, and warm, not the stifling heat of Vacuo. The hoodie was thick enough to stand up to the winters of Vale, but this summer was just cool enough to let him relax inside the clothing. Thanks Oum for small favours. Gently, he pushed off the wall... and nearly smacked into a blonde male, who looked even paler than himself…and weak...and was that a shade a green?

"Ugh... sorry... motion... sick..." His sickly pallor made the hooded teen stand there and stare, before reaching into his pocket and holding out a few pills inside tabs.

"Take one, drink water." Slipping the pill into the teen's hand, he watched as the Blonde blinked and seemed to brighten a bit before doing as asked. After a moment, the boy seemed to right himself enough to stumble over and lean on the window, breathing deeply as he sighed. After a moment, the boy looked over and gave a small smile of gratitude.

"Sorry about that... I get motion sickness way too easily. My sisters find it adorable, since I could sail a normal ship just fine. But put me in the air and I am totally screwed!" He chuckled, rubbing his head with one hand as he lifted the other to the teen before him. "...um...name is Jaune! Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, and ladies will love it! ... someday."

"...Kumo Ayakashi," With that, the hooded teen lifted his hand and shook with Jaune, who chuckled and smiled. As the ship rolled on, two girls, one of whom had blonde hair as golden as the sun, seemed to walk over to a nearby window and stare down at the town. The other sister, wearing a red cape with a hood, talked to the first girl. She appeared to be her sister or best friend. Kumo overheard the red themed girl speaking about how home seemed so far away. The blonde smiled and put her arm around the hooded girl, and said that Beacon was their home for now.

For a moment, Kumo stood there watching them, before Jaune cleared his throat and slowly walked over, a small smirk of 'confidence' on his face.

 _'Remember, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet'._

"Ladies! How are you on this fine day? Name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it!" Boasted Jaune before gesturing behind himself, not noticing Ruby giggle quietly or Yang smirk and sigh good naturedly, "That silent hooded fellow over there is Kumo Ayakashi!" The girls looked at Jaune and smiled, much to his elation and surprise, ' _They aren't laughing at me! Too much.._.'

The Blonde spitfire grinned over at the hooded teen, looking him over. Kumo's green eyes flicked under his hood, (' _W_ _hy is she staring at me,_ ') making an effort to ignore the attention. He watched the male blonde, with genuine amusement, try to pick up two girls on his first day of school. _'At least they seem nice.'_

"Ooh, the strong and silent type I see? Yang does like that... she likes it a lot." Giggling, she walked closer, but the other girl rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Yang, cut it out... I swear you flirt with so many guys…it's amazing you don't have a boyfriend!"

"Awww, but if I got a boyfriend, who would watch out for my baby sister? I can't leave you all alone in this big bad world, Ruby!" With that, the blonde girl took the hooded girl into a hug, nearly crushing the girl's body, which Kumo found slightly amusing, ( _'Are those cracking noises safe,')_ and maybe slightly more alarming. With some effort, he was able to keep himself impassive. His inner monologue not causing his face to break into a smile.

After some time, the four teens began to get prepared to disembark for Beacon, the first steps on the solid concrete feeling odd to Kumo. He was to used to the shifting sands and dirt roads around Vacuo. This felt…almost _too_ solid. Before at…home…he felt as if he had been walking on shifting delicate glass, alive and changing. Now this hard surface beneath his feet...it felt wrong. It felt as if the whole world was...dead.

For a moment, Kumo stood there, lost in thought, until Jaune came up to him and nudged his side.

"Come on, man, we gotta get to orientation! If we don't hurry, we might miss a chance to find some girls cute for a team!" His big grin would have infected others, but Kumo retained his aloof look, though he was grinning on the inside. _'Doesn't waver from his goals it seems.'_ As they began to walk, a loud boom was heard nearby. The red hooded girl, Ruby he recalled her sister calling her, as well as a girl wearing a white dress and a strange long sleeved over shirt, were surrounded by a large plume of smoke.

"...She blew them up…somehow." Kumo's even voice matched his even strides as he walked over. The white themed girl began to yell at Ruby, before finally asking her if she knew who she was. Immediately, Kumo felt a chill go up his spine, as he saw a piece of luggage with the name 'Schnee, Weiss,' being carted off by a servant. His eyes rolled as he came closer, picking up a Dust bottle left on the ground seeming to come from her case. _'I could at least try and be polite.'_

As he walked closer, a girl with a black bow in her hair also holding a bottle approached. Immediately, they took notice of each other...and she seemed puzzled by him. He merely looked away and moved closer. _'She couldn't know…could she?'_ He thought to himself.

"Excuse me... you almost lost this." His quiet voice broke through the girl's haze of anger, somehow. As she turned... she seemed to stumble backwards in shock. He had that effect on people, having his whole body so covered. The only bright clearly visible things were his eyes: Pools of emerald that seemed to glow as bright as any gem. Sliding the dust vial into her hand he nodded once, giving a small smile beneath his mask before walking over to Ruby.

"Come on, Ruby...I have no idea where..." He searched his memories, ' _Yang was it?_ ' "Yang ran off to, but Jaune and I must go to orientation, and I get the feeling you must as well." Holding his hand out for Ruby to take. He rarely spoke in such long sentences, but when he did, his voice could become a purr…or a roar. The girl smiled and nodded, seeming to enjoy the slight reverberations his little speech caused in his voice. She reached up to grasp Kumo's hand, appreciating the help up, _'He's nice for looking so scary'_ she thought to herself. All three then walked off toward the school, ignoring the white haired girl's sputters and stare of confusion . The bow wearing girl followed after them soundlessly, handing the girl the bottle without a word.

* * *

Orientation came and went without too much fuss, and soon, Kumo found himself within a cafeteria. With a stoic look he ordered a dozen donuts, a large sandwich, stacked with meat, cheese, and more bacon than even Jaune would have considered healthy. To go with this he got a side order of gravy covered cheese fries. Walking to a unoccupied corner of the cafeteria, he sat and folded his hands, closing his eyes.

 _'In the name of our savior, The Mighty Oum, forever rest within the light everlasting.'_ His silent prayer was thought, sweet and short, as his parents had taught him. Taking hold of his fork, he was about to begin eating when Jaune appeared and sat beside him.

"Ah, man this food smells good! Heh, my mom would kill me if I said it, but this is as good as her cooking!" With that, the blonde teen began to devour his food, as Kumo closed his eyes again and lowered his mask, slipping a few fries into his jaws with a mild expression of amusement. Suddenly, a girl with red hair and a strange looking armor set appeared. She was accompanied by a male wearing a green trail coat and light camel colored chinos. They took a seat at the table with them.

"Heeeeey everyone! My name is Nora Valkyrie, and this is Lie Ren! Best friends since childhood, greatest duo since Charky and Husk, and future famous Hunters! So, who are you guys and- ooooh! You look like a shady guy with that hood! You look awesome, though! A shady awesome! Shawsome! Like, like, you could sneak into any place ever and take anything you wanted! Not that I am calling you a thief, maybe a ninja, because thieves are mean and ninjas are cool! But you look like you would be an awesome ninja! Not that thieves aren't talented but ninjas are just so awesome, but-" was the first paragraph that exploded from the girl, as the male merely sighed and slid a hand over to cover her mouth.

"Forgive her. She tends to ramble sometimes."

"Forgiven."

"Thank you."

"No need."

Jaune and Nora just watched them, their eyes like tennis balls at a match as they watched the two talk in very short sentences, but very calmly. Finally, Jaune coughed into his hand and held his other one out.

"Umm...name is Jaune Arc! Just a regular Hunstman in training! Not really a duo , but this is Kumo Ayakak... Aykay..."

"Kumo. Ay-a-ka-sheee."

Nora smiled and clapped her hands, giggling as she bounced in her seat. _'Is she vibrating?'_ thought Kumo with a concerned look. Ignoring that for the moment, the small group chowed down. Nora's plate was full of pizza and chicken nuggets, Kumo thought he saw her pull a pancake out of nowhere, but decided it was a trick of the light. Ren had a much healthier meal, consisting of fried rice and sushi. Jaune rounded out the group, having a simple (but apparently amazing) sandwich with a side of chips. For a moment, they all seemed to be enjoying the relative peace... until suddenly, Yang and Ruby appeared and took spots by Nora and Kumo respectively.

"What's up, y'all? Oh hey, Kumo? Thanks for helping my sis out! You sounded pretty slick by the way that Ruby tells it~!" She giggled and began to chew on her steak, as Ruby squeaked and hid her face in her hood, chewing on a cookie.

"I did not! I just said he seemed really nice when he helped me! Stop trying to make it more than that Yang!" The girl frowned as she ate, as Kumo picked up a donut and bit into it... and froze, a small frown on his face.

"Terrible."

"Hmm?" Everyone suddenly looked up at him, as Kumo sighed and put the donut back down. His eyes skimmed over the other 12 donuts left, a look of disappointment in them, as he finished his fries and cut his sandwich with a fork and knife.

"The flour is too salty and has not been run through a sifter properly. The glaze is merely an imitation of chocolate with a hint of nutmeg to try and detract from the overall texture. This oversight results in a mess that no human or Faunus with good taste would find palatable. The dough was smashed too hard, and more anger than love was pushed into these donuts. Sadly, the baker was suffering from some sort of stress, and thus the donuts suffered for it. I would go so far to say that the maker of said donuts was in a rush, a panic, but also suffered from a stifled rage..."

Suddenly, Kumo looked up, seeing that Nora and Ruby were staring with jaws open, a confused expression on their faces. He found the fact that Ruby had a cookie half way to her mouth was kind of adorable. For a while, Yang just stared, then grinned.

"Someone's got one hell of a sweet tooth!"

"Yang! Language!

"Sorry Rubes."

That made Nora grin and lean forward, holding out a piece of her cake.

"Ooh, oh! Try this one! I wanna know!"

For a moment, Kumo felt confused, before slowly sliding the piece off the fork and chewing it. Slowly, he rolled his eyes left, then right as he concentrated, before swallowing.

"Better. Made with a too sweet sugar, but the hints of vanilla are from real vanilla, not a mere cheap imitation. The flour was different, having been sifted for several moments, was the freshest of the bag. The moistness of the cake could be better, but it requires the sacrifice of the extra sugar. Therefore... it is a good slice of cake."

The girl giggled and began devouring her cake with her hands. Ren smiled and shook his head, finishing his rice and sushi with a few bites. Yang finishing her salad with a stifled belch, laughing at herself a bit, before sipping her soda. Ruby slowly held out one of her precious cookies.

"C-Could you tell me what you think of the cook-"

"AWWW, my sister is bonding with a boy! Oooh, you better take responsibility for this, Kumo~!" Yang's sudden grapple around his neck began to cut off the flow of oxygen to the young man, his two arms windmilled desperately for freedom. Jaune and the others laughed before the teen pulled free, his hood falling down... and showing his ash colored hair. For a moment, Nora blinked, then suddenly pushed her self forward to rub it.

"Oooh, his hair feels-"

"NORA! Down girl! That's not polite." Ren pulled the girl back, as she frowned and gave the dreaded puppy dog eyes. Kumo calmly slipped the hood back over his head, pulling his mask up as well. Standing, he walked off to dump his now inedible dozen donuts, ( _'Who would do this to a donut')_ , filled tray in the trash. Ruby, shaking her head, chewed down her cookies calmly. Why was her sister such a jerk about her and boys?

* * *

That night, as everyone settled into the Ballroom for a night of rest, Kumo walked out to the hallway with a book. He had brought along his headphones, and was dressed in his sleeping pants, a grey long sleeved shirt, and a new pair of leather gloves with tiny holes to allow for breathing. Sitting down by a wall, he flicked a match, lit a candelabra, and put his headphones on. Turning on the music program on his scroll, one of the many music tracks he enjoyed from video games began to play. The current selection was _Belowstory's Ultravania_.

Popping the bookmark out, he settled against the wall and began to read:

 _Miho's eyes scanned the horizon for her beloved, for a sign of his approach. The battle ended, the day was won, but that had been so long ago, yet only a day had passed. Was he alive? Did he die because of a single arrow? Questions pounded her soul as she begged the gods for a single glimpse of his warm eyes, those hands that had cupped her in love, had brought her ecstasy from just their touch._

 _But the signs never came. The sun began to set, and night took over. Servants came to try and help the priestess inside, but she hushed them away. She must have him come back! She must see him before sleep would take hold! Her hands clutched the beads that had been his gift to her, as she sniffed and remembered the day the Dragoon had flown to her rescue, to save her from death or worse._

 _But he never showed._

 _Her breath became shaky, as her eyes filled with tears. Was her beloved gone? Had he died to protect her and her homeland, just because he had loved her? Was this how fate rewarded her?_

 _Slowly, the woman fell to her knees and began crying. To lose her family, to lose her beloved... this was her hell now. She should die so she could possibly join them, but suicide would never bring her to them, only seal her away forever. How she ached for the release of her soul. As her hands reached to her face, a single hand slid over to wipe away her tears._

 _"Now now, beloved... Just because I choose to walk instead of fly does not mean you can start calling me dead."_

 _Those words... spoken as if she were a mere woman, not the high priestess... it could not be...!_

 _Turning, she gazed upon her beloved, and then, her eyes widened. His armor was tattered ruins, his face held the ash of the flames he had braved, and his 7 wings, vibrant as a rainbow, were weakened from the strain of battle._

 _He was the most handsome man alive... alive... He was alive!_

 _"TAI!"_

 _Miho cast away all her nobility, her high standing, all of it, and caught the man in a hug, kissing his lips, cheeks, eyes, forehead... How she had missed his taste, and when he bent in and kissed her back, she almost began to cry once more, for now her lover, her king, her Dragoon, Tai, had come-_

Very faintly, Kumo became aware that someone was stroking his short hair, paying special attention to his twin bang tails as he was reading. Slowly his eyes rose from the pages of his book. The sight of Nora, a bright smile on her face, met his eyes. She continued to slowly stroke and play with his hair, not a care in the world. With a frown he reached up and gently grabbed her wrist, causing her to meet his gaze.

Removing his earphones, he was about to ask what she was doing, when the girl giggled and shrugged.

"I remembered how awesome your hair felt, and when you don't have a hood on, I can't resist playing with it! I never met someone who had sandy feeling hair before! You come from someplace with a lot of sand? Oh oh, lemme guess, Vacuo? Yes? I'm right, aren't I? It's my talent I guess! Oh, does that mean you are used to the heat?! Is that why you wear this warm stuff all the time!? That must be really weird, to come to a place like Vale where it's so much cooler…and there's not even CLOSE to as much sand and stuff! You really don't talk much huh?"

Kumo blinked, watching the girl who was kneeling in front of him before suddenly, Ren appeared, looking a bit cross.

"Nora, what did I say? Stop bugging him."

"She wasn't."

Kumo slid his bookmark into his book and pulled his legs up. Nora, smiling giddily, jumped down to her knees and clapped her hands.

"Yaaay! I made another friend Renny! He is so nice, like you! And he's so quiet, like you! You could be like brothers! Oh oh! You guys should become blood brothers!"

"I am quite fine with-"

"Hellooooo!" Yang walked over with Ruby in tow, as the Blonde girl gave a huge grin. "So, you guys must be getting all hyped up about tomorrow, huh? Baby sis here was just writing to her friends in Signal and I figured, why not have two more people join in?"

"Ooh yea! That sounds like fun! Renny, go grab our sleeping bags, we can sleep here with Kumo! I wonder where Jaune is? He seemed like he was a good friend of K- There he is! Jaaaauuune, over heeeeerrre!" The red head began to bounce and wave as Jaune, dressed in a onesie, sat with the group holding his own sleeping bag.

Soon enough, the group had moved over to Kumo, as Ruby and Yang discussed the events of tomorrow, and Nora kept trying to touch Kumo's hair, while Ren stopped her... until...

"Would you all quiet down!? People are trying to sleep and you all are making-"

"OH NOT YOU AGAIN!" Yang suddenly bolted up and now…she was yelling at the same white haired girl as this morning. Kumo sighed and pulled his headphones back on, turning the volume up as he blew out the candles. _'It's going to be an interesting four years… I pity the poor fools who have the crazy blonde and the angry Snow Queen on THEIR team."_

* * *

 **Thanks to tdychko for helping with this and making it awesome!**

 **Tell me what you think! Write a review, follow and favorite!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello peeps, playas and pain purveyors! A very warm "Welcome Back" to all my friends out there on and beyond! It's a bit interesting, since I seem to be regressing back into my old ways of updating less and less of my other stories in favor of just one. However, my editor, whom is also a very fun and cool guy who can help me out so much, often reminds me to update the other one. I promise, once I finish the next few chapters of this story line, I will return to RWBBY. I just needed a break from one story line to follow down another path.**

 **That is not to say there will not be as much comedy in this story as there is (or was) in RWBBY. It's just going to be a different path that is followed, plus my editor helps make the jokes more fun and tend to be enjoyable!**

 **Now, I have been reading some stories... some that are quite smutty, while others are more... fluffy. And some seem to cross that line of "Fluffy Ecchi," that us sexual charged romantics-**

 **"You mean sex crazed deviants with a fetish for love stories?"**

 **SHUT UP! ... as I was saying, that we sexual charged ROMANTICS find to be the best of both worlds.**

 **Now then, as always:**

 **I do not own RWBY, Undertale, any music featured here, or any of the characters save for the OCs.**

Speech: "I'm a little tea pot"

Thoughts: ' _Short and Stout'_

Angry Speech: **"This is my handle"**

Angry Thoughts: **'This is my spout'**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 **Strange Mornings and Initiation**

Kumo knew the moment he awoke, that he had forgotten his contacts were in before he passed out. Itchy and sore, his eyes were barely able to open as he groaned. Unfortunately for him, he would either have to suffer or use the last of his eye drops. _'I know they're necessary, but sometime they're such a nuisance. Hope I can afford more eye drops, this year will be much more painful without them.'_ As the teen thought to himself, he reached into one of his three messenger bags. Pulling out a small white bottle (double checking to make sure he had the right one), he slowly nodded to himself then stood up to head to an empty bathroom.

"ACK!" Suddenly his leg seemed to weigh much more, like a weight had been chained to his ankle the night before. Unable to stop himself, he fell forward and hit... pillows? His head landed between two soft ones, while his free hand slapped onto a third one. Thankful for the save, he began to sit up... only to question his good fortune.

'When did pillows feel so warm? I swear these pillows... oh. Oh. OH...!' His hand inadvertently squeezed the _pillow_ it was on, eliciting a soft of moan from said _pillow_. Praying to Oum he wasn't doing what he thought he was, Kumo's eyes slowly drifted upwards, as he looked...

Right into Nora's eyes.

"Morning~! Didn't know you liked to sleep on people like that! But why did you land on me? I mean, not that I'm complaining, but Ren doesn't even do that! Then again he's pretty much a ninja and ninjas don't trip. I mean we've known each other forever so I wouldn't mind if he tripped, and since we're always together…but not together-together! Hehehe… ANYWAYS~! Is that like a Vacuo greeting?! Oh oh, then lemme fall on you! Ooooh so many choices! Who could I greet then...oh! I can fall on you and use my hand on Ruby, like you are with Yang!"

Kumo prayed that he had heard wrong, that this was all just a dream, or a prank to welcome him. Slowly his eyes drifted to the side. Removing his face (reluctantly, though he'd never admit it) from the more than ample chest of the red head, he was greeted with a Cheshire grin from the blonde spitfire.

* * *

"Well, hey there, hands-some!" _'Ha I'm puntacular!'_ "Getting a bit frisky there already?" She giggled at his embarrassment.

"Yang…nooooo…" Ruby mumbled in her sleep.

The guy had been friendly enough yesterday, even her socially awkward little sister had taken a liking to him. So she wouldn't pummel him for getting grabby…this time, Oum protect him if he hurt her hair. Either way she couldn't really hold him responsible for this, no she could forgive him for something this funny. Her eyes lowered to stare at, the admittedly cute sight, wrapped around his lower leg. His gaze followed hers; the masked teen's eye began twitching. He kind of looked like he wanted to smash his head into the floor with how stupid the situation was.

Wrapped around his leg hugging it like a teddy bear(trap), was a sleeping Ruby, a smile on her peaceful face.

* * *

Having untangled from the mess that was a Ruby, Yang, and Nora pile, Kumo had barely had time to put his eye drops in and then replace his contacts when Ren shuffled in. He groaned with the early morning wake up.

"She woke me... differently."

"My fault."

"Tripped upon Ruby?"

"Yes."

"Forgiven."

"Thank you."

"Jaune will be upset if-"

"OOOOWWW... WHY NORA WHY!" sounded in the distance.

Soon after, the blonde walked into the bathroom holding his toothbrush, clothing, and a bottle of shampoo. "Morning guys... Nora can land on people really hard... ugh..." His hair was ruffled, his eyes half open, and a small bruise was forming on his chest.

"Sorry." Replied both stoic teens in unison.

"It's alright... god, that girl must have eaten something crazy once. When I left, she was trying to wake up Ruby and that quiet girl wearing the bow."

Immediately, Kumo's hand squeezed the toothpaste too hard, as he sprayed the foam onto the counter. _'Oh Oum, what have I created.'_ His eyes darted to the mess, wiping it up quickly, before his eyes turned to Jaune.

"Bow wearing girl... with black hair?"

"Uh... yeah…I think it was that girl we saw yesterd-"

"I will be in the cafeteria getting breakfast." With that Kumo grabbed the rest of his clothing, rapidly pulling it on as he walked out the door. Jaune and Ren stare at the door, then shared a puzzled look, thinking the same thing:

' _That was... odd.'_

* * *

Kumo closed his eyes as he inhaled the aroma of the morning's donuts. Already he could tell they were fresh, the smell quite pleasing, but the taste had yet to be judged. He placed his order, consisting of four pancakes, two omelettes, plenty of bacon, and many donuts. Grabbing a coffee, he returned to the table he had sat at the night before, his hood once more pulled over the ashen hair. Kumo sighed and shook his head, the morning had already gone wrong (right?) in the most embarrassing of ways. It felt as if he were in some comedy, and what role did he play? The fool. With a small prayer, he lowered his mask and took a large sip of his coffee.

"Hey there hands-some~!" Echoed throughout the cafeteria.

Immediately, Kumo's coffee flew from his mouth onto the floor in surprise. Yang and Ruby entered his field of vision following the boisterous greeting. The red and black themed girl seemed to only carry a few chocolate chip pancakes with a glass of milk. In contrast, her sister was breaking fast with two full plates of eggs and bacon. The hooded girl groaned at her sister in response to the new nickname, as Kumo hit his head on the table with a hollow *thunk*.

 _'Why must fate do this to me...?'_

* * *

"Please forgive me, Miss Yang." With that, Ruby watched as Kumo raised his head off the table, taking fresh sip, able to swallow it this time. Her blonde flirt of a sister merely shrugged and laughed, as Ruby nibbled on a cookie she had taken from her special stash. _'I guess he must be worried she would hit him. Unless he messed with her hair, he'd be fine... I think?'_ Slowly Jaune, dressed in the same clothing style as yesterday, appeared with a small stack of pancakes, sparingly covered in syrup, smiling at the group.

"Well, I got to admit... these do look like real pancakes, not the frozen ones."

Sitting there, enjoying her secret cookie, Ruby was content. _'Beacon is turning out to be a lot more than I was hoping for. I already have a group of friends, YAY! I wonder what their weapons are like.'_

* * *

Suddenly, Nora had jumped down onto the bench, causing the whole table to shake with her energy "YAAAAAHHOOOO! Pan-cakes! Pan-cakes! Pan-cakes!" Kumo, his eyes staring from under his hood, glanced over and felt his teeth ache from the sugar present. Nora's tray was covered in four plates of pancakes; each stacked ten high, two bottles of syrup, and a full jug of milk.

 _'...there is no way she can eat all that. To do so would-'_

Nora's mouth moved too quickly to follow on as she talked, happy to tell us about how much fun it was to already have friends on her first day of school. Apparently friends or not, she was planning to have Ren as her partner. What was astounding to Kumo was the fact that each pancake she ate was down her gullet in one gulp, no need to chew. That was…interesting. She had an appetite as lovely as-

 _'Get out of the gutter, brain!'_

Slowly Kumo brought some omelette to his lips, enjoying the aroma, before his eyes saw... her.

The bow girl was staring at him intently, as if she were trying to figure him out. Immediately all his warning flags went up, he unconsciously began to shove the piping hot eggs down his throat. Bad idea, as soon his throat was beginning to burn from the heat. Quickly he stole a jug of Nora's milk to sooth his throat from the burning sensation. He noticed Ruby looking at him out of the corner of his eye. She turned over to where he was staring, before smiling and waving to the girl.

* * *

The girl, blinking owlishly, slowly raised her hand in greeting. Yang giggled at Kumo's carelessness, and marvelled at his increased pace of wolfing down his food. It was kind of cute, in a dorky sort of way, how he seemed to be trying to avoid a girl.

 _'First Ruby takes a shine to him, which I will be watching VERY CLOSELY! Now some cute ebony haired girl is staring him down? Maybe she's an ex-girlfriend? No she seems more curious than anything. Meh, talk dark and quiet seems to be in nowadays At least he's easy to tease~!'_

Suddenly the girl stood up, taking her tray in hand and facing them. Kumo bolted from the table faster than the eye could follow, holding his donuts to his stomach and giving them a hurried farewell.

"I will meet you all at initiation!"

"We'll catch you later hands-some!" Yang called out an effort to get a reaction, which she did when he stumbled at the door. She just laughed at her pun, proud of her awesome skills.

"Please stop yang…" Ruby pouted.

* * *

With those parting words from Yang, the teen was out the door, leaving behind only a few crumbs of food, 5 confused people, and a girl with a bow staring. But Kumo didn't care; he raced out of the cafeteria and down the hall, his eyes glancing around with fear. He worried about only one thing, and that was there could be someone who knew what he was.

' _If she knows... damn...! I have to hide it better! Don't. Lose. Focus.'_

* * *

Kumo had avoided everyone in the time between the cafeteria and preparations in the locker room, not wanting to risk anything yet. Standing on the launch pad his hands in his pockets, he glanced to the far left side of him. He saw Jaune fidgeting uncomfortably with his armor, glancing to his other side, Yang was preparing for the jump when she noticed him looking.

With a mischievous smirk on her face, she gave her breasts a small bounce while mouthing, _hey handsome_ , causing his face to flush. He was never going to live down his moment of stupidity it seemed.

With a sigh, he grabbed his headphones from the silver case around his waist. Inside, a multitude of gun parts lay neatly organized. These were to be used in addition to the 6 swords that hung off his waist. But what really mattered to him was the steel wire attached to the grappling hook he kept rolling between his fingers. He seemed to take special care to be attentive to it, making sure not to cut his gloves on any of the wire or the barbs.

"...Um... doesn't that seem like a bit much Kumo. How are you gonna use all that?" Jaune felt a bit confused as he looked over each blade, each placed within a different colored scabbard. The swords were all forged with a straight blade, without a curve, so it was possible they had two edges. However, when Kumo had slid one out to oil during the time they had at the locker room, Jaune had seen it had only one edge.

"With ease."

The teen then slipped his headphones on, turning the volume up as he accessed the media library once more. Choosing an album from an older Mistral based band, he closed his eyes and began to bounce his head to the beat, humming the song's intro to get into the groove. His eyes snapped open when he felt two pairs of eyes on him.

He glanced to one side, and saw, where there had been an empty launch pad, there she was. The girl with the bow in her hair watched him. Her golden eyes held a primal quality to them. Immediately Kumo felt his whole body begin to tense. He had wanted to avoid any confrontations, but it seemed fate had different plans for him. Turning to the other side, he saw the girl from last night, the girl carrying all that dust who felt the need to yell and correct everyone. She was once more dressed in that strange white dress, was giving him a look of both slight disdain, but also curiosity.

 _'...When did I become so Oum-damned interesting...?'_

Suddenly the first of the students was launched, Kumo braced himself. Beside him, the bow haired girl sailed off; she seemed to no longer care about him, which greatly relieved Kumo. However, the Schnee seemed to just keep staring at him, as if to consider whether he was a rival or a mere obstacle. With resignation, he slid his hand under his hood. Turning up the volume he pulled his hood down… and was launched into the forest.

* * *

Blake used the ribbon on her Gambol Shroud to wrap around a tree, quickly swinging from branch to branch in a amazing show of aerobatics. Once her momentum was lessened, she quietly slipped down to the ground with a neutral look. The big issue on her mind was finding a partner, but something else kept nagging at the back of her mind:

 _'Who the hell was that guy?'_

He didn't seem like a Faunus, but he had this strange... aura around him. It was like a Faunus but seemed more… feral. It felt like the guy had just dropped in from some other part of the world, but he seemed to meld with the environment around him so well. He even made friends already it seemed. She could barely wrap her head around it, but instead she shook her head and focused. No use in worrying about something like, she would probably only see him in passing around school anyways. He had hung around with those happy, outgoing people (except for that one guy in the green shirt, he seemed to be stuck with the red head though). She doubted she would be partnered with any of them.

No, she had her own goals in mind to accomplish. With a leap she was back up into the trees, jumping from tree to tree. She silently sought out her partner for the next four years.

* * *

Weiss Schnee had never been one to allow for complications or loose ends. She found answers to her queries no matter how difficult. In the beginning, she had always been provided what she needed to accomplish her goal. Later in her life, when her goals changed, she was able to find her own way, whether her father approved of it or not. More often than not though, her father wouldn't even bat an eye at her requests. Too wrapped up in running of the Schnee Empire or his political dealings. Some days it seemed he just said yes to keep her away from him. The biggest change so far in her life had been to switch from Atlas to Vale. One ordered and cold, the other warm, inviting, and slightly chaotic. It was refreshing and exhausting at the same time. No matter though, Beacon was in Vale, so Vale is where she would stay. She had the answer on how to make her family proud. She would become one of the most talented huntresses of all time.

This Kumo however, brought up some questions...

The moment she had set eyes on him, all the neurons in her brain screamed out in confusion. He hid himself so well, but those eyes of his seemed pierce into her like gemstones. He moved with the grace of a dancer, but tried so hard to have no attention drawn to him. Even when the spotlight did fall to him, he knew how to divert it away. He hadn't caused her any problems yet, he had even been polite handing her back the dust vial that hooded walking disaster had knocked from her bags. There was just something off about him.

 _'Who is that hooded man? Is he strong? Can he fight well? Why does he hide himself under all that clothing? What does he have to hide? FOCUS WEISS, these are not the important questions right now!'_

With a great skill, she used her glyphs as platforms to slow her decent. Once slowed sufficiently, she fell to the ground, both skilful and dignified in her execution of the move. Once she got her bearings, she frowned as she crossed her arms, taking in the forest surrounding her. The place was filthy, disgusting, and not a place for the Schnee heiress to be! But, this was part of her becoming a huntress, so she could and would deal with it... she may need a new pair of boots to replace the ones that she knew were being ruined by the disgusting mud though!

"Ugh, gross... this place is fit only for the grim! Oooh, if I hadn't been thinking about that... that... ugh! Kumo, I hate your rotten guts!"

* * *

Kumo sneezed as he jumped from a rock, landing on the grassy end of a cliff. ' _Strange... I did not realize the air was filled with pollen...'_ With a shrug, the hooded teen walked to the edge, frowning as he tried to find out where he was to go in the first place. Ozpin had only stated they were to find the "artefact in the North" with their partner. Hard to do so when you have no partner to work WITH. Sighing to himself, Kumo looked to his side... and barely dodged the Grimm that lunged at him.

The creature, a Beowolf, was something new to Kumo. He knew of them of course, but this would be his first personal encounter with one. The whole thing looked like a werewolf with a bone plate mask, covered in red lines. For some reason, it made him think of the coyotes he had to chase off for a kid when he was younger. All so they could find their soccer ball. The ball ended up covered in all things gross, but the kids had be-

"WHOOP!" Kumo bent his whole body back, dodging a swipe from the Beowolfs claws, as his hands still inside his jacket pockets. So, the puppy wanted to play? Well...

"...Let's go for a walk, little doggy..."

 _'That sounded so bad ass.'_

The Beowolf snarled drawing attention to several more of its brethren walking toward him. Kumo focused and drew his hands out of his pockets, pulling the glove off of his right hand. Slowly, from the tips of each digit, a thread slowly slid from beneath, each as thin as hair. Whipping his hand back, Kumo yawned for a moment...then slammed it down hard on the ground. With the sound of a cracking whip, the threads slammed down towards the Beowolves, seeming to freeze them in place.

For a few moments they all stood there, before the leader slowly began to fall to pieces. His left side fell to the right, as the right did the opposite. Soon, all the grimm present were bisected and dissolving, as Kumo's threads slid back under his hand.

"This is where I would ask for a challenge, but I know better than that to tempt-"

"GROAWWWWR!"

"...I must learn to keep my mouth shut."

* * *

Yang hummed as she walked through the woods, the bow haired girl, Blake, behind her. They had just taken down some Ursa, then began some small talk to learn a bit about each other (Which was mainly about how Ruby was her adorable little sister and had this cute crush on a guy named Kumo), while Blake had given a quiet but friendly, "I don't really like to talk about myself." Yang wouldn't pry yet, she had four whole years to get all the juicy details of her partner's life from her.

"Oh, oh, and then she asks him to eat one of her cookies! Awww, she had this cute smile on her face and she makes me so proud! But, to be fair, Kumo does seem very responsi-"

"Pardon me!" Suddenly, the hooded teen darted past, chased by... well, a massive, masked, black as midnight Creep. The creature roared and snapped at him as the teen barely avoided becoming a Grimm's snack. Dodging to one side with a flip, he barely had time to duck as the beast swung its bone like tail out to bat him across the forest... only to end up creating a new clearing within said forest.

Blake and Yang just stood there, shocked, as the teen jumped and dodged all manner of attacks. They turned to one another, silently gauging the others reaction. For a moment they seemed to share a silent conversation, then took off racing to catch up with the young man.


	3. Chapter 3

**Yeeeaa... I take waaaaaay too long to update this story. I know I should probably speed up what I write, but honestly, I like to make sure the detail is more and more refined in these stories, and my editor is a huge help in doing so!**

 **However, he has requested that I ask you all to leave more reviews and favorites... or we will have to put down Zwei and feed Ruby only Raisin cookies, WHICH ARE DELICIOUS.**

 **"...No comments from me."**

 _ **"Raisin cookies are an abomination towards all mankind. Updating slower allows for a higher quality product, the readers will understand. Or I can kill Zwei." from The Editor.**_

Speech: "I'm a little tea pot"

Thoughts: ' _Short and Stout'_

Angry Speech: **"This is my handle"**

Angry Thoughts: _**'This is my spout'**_

* * *

Chapter 3

Power of Hunters

"Hey Ren, you think that Kumo guy is, having as much fun as we are? I mean, he always seemed like he was so quiet, but it might be because he was bored! Well, except when he fell on my chest, then he looked all red and jumpy, but I still think that was a greeting! I mean, why would he wanna fall on my chest? Then Ruby was clamped on his leg like a sloth on a branch, hey Ren you figure out what sound a slot makes yet? Either way it was so cute and fun-"

"Nora."

"No, no! I mean, she seemed like she really likes him as a friend... like we are! Just two of the most awesome people ever to become partners in like... the history of all Remnant! But he seems really quiet, but sweet too! Like you! Oh oh, do you think he and Ruby are gonna become a couple? That would be so cuuuuute! Ahhh! They could change hoods! She could wear his hoodie and he could wear her hood and cape! Oooh, it's too cute! I gotta help them now! Ren, vow with me, today, we shall help Ruby and Kumo get-"

"Kumo is being chased."

"Huh?" The girl looked over to where Ren was pointing off towards the north, as the hooded figure of the teen she had become friends with was rushing to avoid a massive Creeper. The beast behind him was giving chase with a primal need. It roared with each snap of its jaw, each attempt barely avoided by Kumo. The thundering of its massive footsteps echoed throughout the forest, each step attempting to crush him under foot.

"... WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE!? WE GOTTA SAVE HIM! QUICK, REN! USE YOUR MAD NINJA SKILLS AND BLOW IT UP!"

Calmly Ren explained, "Nora, I don't blow things u-"

She was already gone. Why did he bother sometimes…

Immediately upon finishing her sentence the red head took off, holding the monster sized mallet of a hammer she loved, Magnhild. Ren just sighed and shook his head. She was his best friend and closest thing to a sister, but she was always ready to jump the gun. He pulled back on bolts of his guns, and took off after her.

* * *

Kumo dodged, ducked, dipped, dived, and dodged the attacks of the creature behind him as well as the stumps and fallen trees. The corpses of said trees, unfortunate victims of the Creeper, littered the area. He had always read about the smaller versions, he had was sure he could have used his special wires on those to just trap and dismember them. This thing? Not so easy unfortunately.

With a leap over some low lying brushes, Kumo readied for more running... and immediately jumped to the right. Ahead of him, without a visible bottom due to a heavy fog, was a cliff... and with that he had a plan. Turning to the trees, he slammed his hands onto the bark and began to work. Using the steel thread, he began to form a complex web between trees, tying knots and extra layers for strength. All the while the thudding grew louder. _'I have to hurry... come on, come on...! Around the tree, through the rabbit hole, snake coils himself before he pulls tight…DONE!'_

"...Hope this works!" Standing, Kumo watched at the beast roared upon seeing him, charging faster... and then caught its feet in the web. Kumo sprang out of the way as the beast stumbled, taking the trees with it as it struggled. The beast screeched in confusion and fury before looking at him as it tried to stand, right at the edge of the cliff. The hooded teen stood there for a moment, before slowly walking toward the Creep.

"Well, that worked! It was fun... Have a nice trip, and I won't see you next fall."

 _'Hmm... not as cool as the last one, but it was still badass.'_

With that, Kumo lifted his leg... and kicked the beast forward Its screeches echoed off the cliff, tapering off as it fell into the abyss below. Exhausted from the shock and the surprise run, he fell back onto the ground ass first. Putting his gloves back on, he closed his eyes, relaxing on the ground.

"...Hehe, hey hands-some? You need to work on your one liners. That was pretty lame. You have to learn to finish your fights… with a Yang~!"

 _'Cruel fate, you mock me. Such a misunderstanding of how cool my one liners are. It seems I'm being stalked by a flirty, uninformed spitfire now and-'_ Kumo's thoughts faded when he opened his eyes and saw the bow wearing girl standing beside Yang. Her arms were crossed as she watched the teen with a small frown, but more over why he was nick named "hands-some"?

"...I am going to ask for a room as far from you as possible when I find my own team, Miss Yang."

* * *

The day seemed to drag on as Kumo walked ahead, followed by Nora and Ren (Who had shown up with a bang, literally.) The girl had left a small crater landing by Kumo and slamming Magnhild into the cliff side. When the two learned of how he had killed the beast, the red head had actually glomped him and called him awesome. The effect of such glomp was less pleasant and more painful, the resulting force knocking him over with her still clinging to him. Even now, his whole body was aching in pain, ( _'can a hug result in broken bones?')_ Yang and Blake also tagged along with the group, safety in numbers they say. The bow haired girl had begun to question Yang on why she called him hands-some, but Kumo's fast reflexes always caught the blonde's mouth before she could divulge an answer for her.

It became a bit like a game really, she never won... but honestly, he knew she saw it as future blackmail material either way.

For a while the group walked in silence, which seemed was weird for Nora. Ren was able to keep her focused by stating they were on a "stealth operation", which Nora seemed to regard as a personal challenge she had to succeed on. Thankful for the lack of distractions, the hooded teen slipped the headphones from his neck to his ears, closing his eyes as he did so. It felt nice, to lose himself in the music, to be free of all the distractions of the world, to be-

Suddenly tapped on the shoulder by Yang, who was smirking like a cat that caught the cannery.

 _'If I didn't know better, I would swear she has Cat Faunus in her DNA,'_ Kumo thought to himself as he pulled the headphones (which had not even been able to start playing music) off, placing them around his neck once more. The girl moved to his side with a bit of pep in her step, before she slipped an arm around his waist to pull him close.

"Soooo... Ruby's pretty cute right? Being adorkable all the time, what you think about her?" Yang's eyes were locked on his, and already he felt like he was treading through a dangerous minefield. He had seen older brothers savagely beat potential suitors for their younger sisters back in Vacuo. In addition, his novels had enough drama in them that there was very little he did not know concerning matters possibly involving the heart. Lastly, let's not forget good old common sense and survival instincts. He had to play this right to avoid…confrontation.

"...Ruby is a girl of innocence and kindness, with an air of wanting to defend-"

"That... really wasn't what I meant." She stared at him with one eyebrow raised.

 _'Glad we could clear that up so early in the conversation. I was trying to steer us AWAY from that.'_

"May we discuss this after Team Building?" he pleaded, trying in vain to remove her arm from his waist.

"Aww, come on now! I gotta know how Mr Hand-"

"Please stop calling me that. It is getting to be old." A tick mark was forming above his left eye.

"Hmm... Ok then! How about-?"

"Nora, sloth. On Yang."

"SLOOOOTH!"

Suddenly, the battle maiden rushed and latched onto the blonde, who let go of Kumo with a yelp, trying to detach the joyful Nora. Succeeding, she sent a confused glare his way. Nora just seemed disappointed at the lack of sloths. Blake, Ren, and Kumo looked at each other before taking off in the same direction. The other two girls, finally realizing what the hooded figure had done, began shouting with indignation, before chasing after them.

* * *

Kumo slowly turned to Ren, feeling a little guilty for how he has acted earlier.

"I apologize for using your friend to..."

"Remove an unhealthy fixation upon how you feel for another's sister?"

"Yes."

"You're forgiven."

"Is there any way..."

"Having a cup of tea together, so we may talk as friends, would suffice."

"I would enjoy that."

"As would I."

Content that he had not upset his new friend, Kumo focuses on the task at hand. They had just arrived at the temple containing the relics, but lacking a partner he was unsure what to do. Should he just grab one and call it a day? Did being part of a group count? Pondering his options Kumo decided to rest, feeling that he was relatively safe for the moment. Sitting down and leaning against a wall, his eyes resting, he enjoyed the warmth of the suns rays on his face. He reviewed the past few hours, taking a breath and relaxing. He came to a conclusion fairly easily, Already being at the ruins it would be best to wait for anyone who was not partnered to venture over. This way the danger would be minimized, and any partner that showed up would be talented enough to get here on their own. With a content sigh, he pulled his book from the inside of his hoodie, and began reading where he left off the night before:

 _Miho cast away all her nobility, her high standing, all of it, and caught the man in a fierce hug, kissing his lips, cheeks, eyes, forehead... How she had missed his taste, and when he bent in and kissed her back, she almost began to cry once more, for now her lover, her king, her Dragoon, Tai, had come back to her._

 _Never had his taste been so good, never had his sweat smelled so delicious... and yet, as she fought to stay awake, her senses began to dull. She wanted to remain awake, to always be there and hold him close, just as he did for her that horrid morning. But sadly, her eyes fluttered from the shock, then the exhaustion and lack of sleep. But as she slumped, his arms picked her up slowly, as he smiled._

 _"A queen needs her beauty sleep... even for you, my goddess." His voice was a rumble of thunder, but she could do no more than just mutter an incomprehensible sentence, as she passed out from the need of sleep._

* * *

 _The morning she awoke to a jolt of fear. She remembered Tai's battle, and then that he might have died! Dread filled her blood with ice, as she lept from her bed, not taking notice of the new silken robe she now wore. She only barely saw her hair, once a mastery of its own art, was in disarray, but still, she did not care! Where was he? Where was Tai, the Dragoon that belonged to her heart as she belonged to his? Fear began to choke her, as she raced down the steps..._

 _Right into the towering form of her lover, who had a tray of food in his arms as he chuckled._

 _"Now you should know that I always have issue making breakfast. I hope I did not burn the muffin, my muffin..."_

(Kumo rolled his eyes at the line. Tai may have been master of all the elements, a leader of several nation armies, and the lover of the leader of his world... but his puns were as bad as Yang's.)

 _Miho stared at him, then began to sob hard, falling to her knees._

 _"It... it was no dream! You came back, but that means I must bid you good bye... because now that general's whore of a daughter will-"_

 _"Will be marrying another dragon. It turns out that my father died in battle... a moment he relished happily, for he did it as much for me, as himself. I would not mourn him, for his death... means I am the last of the Divine Dragoon. Miho... I can choose my own wife."_

 _Her eyes grew wide with life. Tai, her lover and saviour... his father had been a good man, but to sacrifice himself for his son? The man deserved the honour, truly. Slowly, her eyes lifted to look into her lover's, as a smile formed._

 _"Do not judge yourself the last, my beloved..."_

 _"What do you mean, Miho?"_

 _"...your father's name will live on."_

 _"Y...you cannot be... am I...?!" His eyes grew wide, as Tai set the tray down on a table rather quickly to place his hands on her belly, as she nodded. Her eyes flowed with happy tears, before the man stood up._

 _"...I... I... Uggghh.." With those famous words, the future leader of the world, Tai Hyoga, son of Minato Hyoga, fell over with a loud thud onto the floorboards in a dead faint._

Kumo gave a quiet chuckle at that part. Tai had always wanted to be a dad, to be like his own father. But when the time actually came, he did what any father to be did: He passed out from shock! With another quiet laugh, he read the next few pages, which detailed a massive wedding, a feast, and then the day of Tai helping his children learn to justly lead the world, before he finally left the world of the living to find Miho in the afterlife.

With a satisfied smile, Kumo closed the book to place it back in his hoodie, but a hand slipped over his shoulder to grab it.

"Oooh, the Warrior's Lust? Sounds kinky~."

Yang's smirk was back on her face as she opened the first page, and began to read aloud.

" _Many years had passed when the first of Sakura blossoms turned from their ordinary pink to the blood red color of lust. Tai Hyoga, at the age of seven, was watching... his mother pluck the star fruit from the trees with... gentle hands..._ "

Slowly, Yang's voice drifted off, as she began to read the book carefully. Her eyes narrowed to read, but soon, she smiled and closed the book.

"Think I will keep this... consider it the payment for having Crazy Hammer Time over there try to smash me."

"Fine. I finished that part anyway. I still have the other 4 books to read." With that, Kumo dusted himself off ready to look for any signs of people... when Yang suddenly raced over and pinned him to the wall.

"There is more to this book!?"

Kumo blinked, looking nervously around at the others. Ren was slightly smiling, his arms crossed as he watched. He shifted his gaze to Nora as she giggled happily, jumping around and clapping, her bust beginning to- ( ** _'STOP DOING THAT, BRAIN!'_** Kumo thought as he looked away) - and then finally his sight landed on Blake, who seemed to be more interested in the fact that he read.

"Uh... yes. There is whole series, but I recommend you read that one first. Then you should read the spin offs, one of which deals with the reason why the trees are turning red, while the other is about a human cursed with a Daemon's arm that is slowly consuming his life force. He must find a priestess to... uh..." Here, the teen stammered and felt conflicted. _'Should I tell her what he must do with that arm to the priestess? It gets fairly…steamy.'_ Thankfully, Yang released him before he could decide, her eyes widening with excitement. Before she could ask anything specific however, Kumo realized something.

"...does anyone else hear yelling?" Looking up, Kumo frowned as he lifted his hand to his eyes. Unfortunately, the sun refused to be stopped by that one limb. With a grunt of discomfort, he took his mask off, using the cloth to block out more of the sun... And was impacted by a screaming Ruby. She fell from the sky, crashing into him with the full force of her small size, sending the both of them into a tree. Ruby's body was cushioned by the hooded teen, but that did nothing to help them when the others saw the results of the crash landing...

* * *

Ruby moaned as she felt her body crack and wince from all sorts of pain, but thankfully she had hit something soft…and warm... especially her lips. Cracking her eyes to check out what her saving grace was, the poor girl nearly had a heart attack, squeaking in embarrassment.

Kumo's eyes were staring right back at hers, his arms lay around her waist, his body pushed against a tree. What were the cushions on her lips? His own. The two were kissing pretty hard, and neither one of them was moving away from the other due to the shock. The other sound they seemed to be hearing were each other's hearts beats... and then...

"WHOOOO! That is my little sister! She scored her first kiss with Mr Tall, Dark, and Hands-…some…! Wait…HEY! You're moving too fast! You just met, get off him Ruby!"

The two broke apart immediately dusting themselves off to try and explain, but the loud screeching of a Death Stalker interrupted them. Jaune and a girl with a mane of dark red hair ran from the forest, followed by the large form of the monstrous creature. Immediately, Kumo's entire body flexed in recognition, THIS Grimm he knew. At least he could handle them one on one, but... hold on, this one was substantially bigger than a normal one?!

 _'Oh, that is just unfair...'_ With a glare, he began to pull his swords out, but then a scream was heard, as Weiss, the girl from the launch pad, was now falling.

"I told her to jump!" Ruby groaned and rubbed her head sheepishly, before seeing Kumo look at her. The two blinked and then blushed together at the same time, before the hooded teen began trying to make a net out of... steel wire. _'Yes, that would work real well...cut the heir of SDC to pieces…'_ Shaking his head, the teen then began to scan the area for any other thread. Jaune suddenly raced over beneath her, arms held out to heroically catch the heiress. Sadly he miscalculated, being smashed into the ground by Weiss. Thankfully for her, she hit him with her ass to his back.

"My hero..." She said with a hint of boredom, checking her nails.

"My back..." Jaune replied, groaning as he lay on the ground.

"...My Oum, this is becoming way too-" Kumo began, before he barely dodged the flying red head that had been with Jaune earlier. The red headed gladiator ended up smacking into Yang, causing her to groan and rub her head before rising.

"Great, now we can all die together!" Yang helpfully supplied without any sarcasm at all…

Kumo turned his head to look over everyone, before frowning under his mask.

"...Ren, you and Nora keep an eye out. Yang, you Blake and Ruby, keep everyone safe. Jaune... rest up." Slowly the hooded teen began striding forward, sliding his hands down to the blades. Instead of taking them out one by one, he interlocked his fingers... and slid all 6 blades out with his knuckles, holding the handles between his fingers as he began to dash forward. The Death stalker, hissing, glared at him as he rapidly approached it.

"Well, come on... I am sure you are dying to know how I will end you."

Back with the group, he swear he could hear people groan at the one liner, except for two people it seemed: Yang, who was cheering Kumo on, and Ruby, who bit her lip before racing forward to help him. As she did so, the monster roared and screeched, trying to cut the teen in half as he rolled, slashed, and chopped at the huntsman in training. With a smirk under his mask, Kumo flicked his hand out, a spool of wire unwinding and slamming into one claw... causing no damage at all.

"What?! Damn it! The armor must be too thick for my Semblance to- oh crap!"

Kumo grit his teeth, the massive Death stalker slamming down its stinger closer and closer to his head. Barely dodging the next swipe, it came close enough to rip the hood back from his head. The teen glared with hatred at the creature. _'If your cousins in Vacuo couldn't kill me, you shall fail as well!'_ With that, he ducked the last stab, racing forward amid the shouts of the others telling him to run away. Meanwhile, Ruby fired shot after shot from further off, scoring a hit on one of the creatures many eyes.

Suddenly, a claw whipped over and slammed across the teens stomach, sending him flying backwards into a small grouping of trees. He groaned in pain as he collided with one across with his entire back. Immediately, he knew his whole body would be sore for a good long while. To make the moment even better... he then saw the Nevermore. The same one Ruby and Weiss had ridden (more like clung to for dear life) onto the scene, and it looked pissed, appearing to target to cape wearing girl. With a screech, the gigantic raven like Grimms feathers began to shower down. The sharp ends slammed into the ground, pinning Ruby's cape. Stuck, she struggled to escape as the massive scorpion turned from him toward her.

Horror filled his whole being, as Kumo grabbed his swords and threw them into the air, pulling the suitcase off his back as he did so. The Deathstalker did not wait however, already it was looming over Ruby, pulling back it stinger to strike. With rapid movements, as he watched the swords land behind the creature, he ripped the gloves from his hands, throwing all his available wire forward to ensnare the beast.

At the same moment, Weiss of all people had sprinted into the action. Freezing the Grimm's tail in place moments before it could strike. She began to try to free Ruby, while seeming to share a short, heated conversation with the young girl.

 _'Seems Weiss cares more for others than it would first appear.'_

The scorpion roared and hissed, struggling to move under the combined attacks. With its stinger frozen in ice, the Grimm has lost use of its main form of attack. Around the stinger's base wire was tangled, the beast trying in vain to snip it away. Kumo pulled back with a herculean effort, as he moved towards his swords, struggling desperately to control the Grimm's movements.

"Don't... hurt... my... friends!" Kumo's gritted teeth and mask made his words hard to hear for most of the group, but it seemed Ruby was able to. Her keen ears must've picked up his words, if the way she turned to him as he fought was any sign. Struggling to free herself with Weiss's help, refusing to use her scythe to damage her cape further, she looked at him as the Deathstalker turned once more. It was now focused on him, and with Weiss's timely help, his plan was set, the trap ready. Releasing the wire now that it was facing him, the Grimm was able to finally shatter the ice holding its stinger in place. It screeched and charged towards him.

Grabbing the swords with now free hands, Kumo's reflexes moved him faster than should be possible He connected, unsheathed, and reset the swords and sheathes all while the beast continued to close the distance. Finishing, he lifted... a very, very, VERY large sword.

At least 7 feet long, covered in red and black, the details of the sword made it look mechanical, but no less deadly. It boasted massive rocket boosters on the edge of the blade near the cross guard to help increase momentum and damage. Kumo's hands gripped the massive, heavy blade as the Grimm was almost upon him. Sliding one hand down to the handle, a strange hilt, much like a motorbike's hand brake, rested.

Weiss and Ruby were finally able to tug the caped girl free, but already, the massive beast was stomping mere feet from him, roaring with bloodlust and anger. Closer and closer, it drew, as Kumo lifted the blade up, then slammed it down before the beast... and then...

 **WHHHHIIIIIIRRRRRR-CLICK-ICK-ICK! PFFFFT!**

The inside of the sword quickly opened, showing a massive array of… missiles. Hundreds of small, but deadly projectiles rested within, as the sides opened, and more and more launch ports were shown. With a small smirk showing through his mask, Kumo closed his right eye and took aim, as every single missile took aim at the creature's tail, back, claws, joints... every single weak point.

 _'In the words of Sans...'_ "You are about to have a Bad Time."

With a loud WOOSH, every rocket rushed from the ports, racing forward to the target, as the Death stalker screeched to a halt... too late realizing the danger it was in. Every rocket began to slam and smash down on the Grimm, its entire body becoming engulfed in a massive explosion, several smaller ones going off all around it. Kumo stood within feet of the chaos, revelling in the destruction he was causing, a crazed smile on his face.

 _'To bad I only have one shot with this.'_ His thoughts did nothing to diminish his enjoyment of watching the explosions. Soon, the only remains of the creature were the tip of the golden stinger, which Kumo promptly picked up. Stabbing a wire through, he tied it around his neck.

"...makes a good pendant." He was about to show everyone the new necklace, but the stinger faded off into ash, causing him to groan.

 _'Or not.'_

* * *

Ruby stared at the scene of destruction caused by the weapon, her mouth hanging open with shock over how... extreme the two forms of his weapons were. His six blades had been silent, graceful like Weiss had said (She and the heiress had tried to find common ground, but the only thing they could agree on was how strange Kumo's whole being was), but this sword was... not. It was wild, powerful, destructive... and it took a long time to make.

'Maybe he doesn't know how to customize the weapons...?' Frowning to herself, the girl began to walk over, when suddenly, the screech of the Nevermore brought everyone's attention back to the sky.

"Everyone! Run to the north after you get an artifact! Just go!" Ruby raced over, her Semblance leaving behind rose petals as she dashed forward to get her own. Behind her, Kumo was sprinting hard to keep up with everyone, having the sword secured onto his back. His eyes however, were on her as he moved closer when he could.

"Are you ok Ruby?"

Her eyes moved to meet his, and both realized that, once again, they had accidentally kissed. Shaking the memory away, Ruby nodded at him. Slowly, a gentle smile formed on her face, one that returned the blush to Kumo's face with a vengeance.

"Yeah... I'm ok, so let's go! Thanks for catching me."

"...If you needed me to, I would always catch you. Just, sorry for the unintentional kiss. I did not intend for it to happen." Ruby blushed a bit at that, turning to run and catch up with her comrades, as slowly a thought began to form in her head, causeing her heart to speed up.

 _'Why am I hoping next time it is intentional…?'_

* * *

 **Tell me what you think! Write a review, follow and favorite!**


	4. Chapter 4

**No, we have NOT killed Zwei. I have managed to keep the puppy alive... even if the editor's sick mind to kill such a cute puppy has some horrible ideas. No, instead, we have been merely planning and working out several ideas for the story. Some may make it in, and others may not. It all just depends on what we find to fit in best. Now then...**

 **I personally find myself liking this story quite a bit. Already, we have seen that Kumo has some... interesting weaponry on hand. Ruby, in her quest to help everyone, wonders if Kumo may need help with his customization of his sword(s). And Yang... well, she is alternating between flirty spitfire and overly protective big sister.**

 **But now, with the Nevermore behind them, what plan will Ruby and Jaune come up with? Is Kumo going to provide a saving hand, or is he going to be a complication?**

Read on, my friends!

Speech: "I'm a little tea pot"

Thoughts: _'Short and Stout'_

Angry Speech: **"This is my handle"**

Angry Thoughts: _**'This is my spout'**_

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 **Teams RWBY, JNPR, and... Wait, What?!**

Kumo hated Nevermores. He hated their large, predatory eyes. He hated the way they would stalk prey before they would strike. He hated their large claws, capable of tearing open houses with ease just for a quick meal. He hated them…SO. OUM. DAMN. MUCH! He hated them more then despised Death Stalkers. He found both types of Grimm were disturbing, cruel, and the worst of all the dark borne creatures, but Nevermores…they could all just die. They were almost impossible to lose once they caught site of you. So, finding himself being chased by one was doing nothing for his mood.

"Run faster! Keep running as fast as you can!" Kumo's hand pushed Ruby forward, trying to keep her ahead of him. She gave him a look as she continued rushing forward.

"You know I'm faster than basically everyone since ever right?!" Ruby quipped through heavy breathing.

"If you can run so much faster why am I pushing you?"

"Because you're too slow, and I won't leave anyone behind. You worry too much!"

Using her Semblance for quick burst she moved ahead. She turned back and gave him a pointed look. _'Well damn, guess she wasn't kidding around.'_ She waited for him to catch up before they continued to make their escape. With the giant creature behind them screeching, there was plenty of motivation to do so.

"Ruby, run! Run over to me!" Yang jumped and called out, waving from over a hill. The hooded girl nodded, her face beginning to pour with sweat from the rush. However, she felt Kumo's hand tighten and pull her to one side, as he gasped.

"RUBY LOOK OUT! ARGH! AHHHH!" Kumo's act of throwing her away had been noble... and a little stupid. The Nevermore had swooped down, and now its talons were digging into his shoulders, pulling him into the air.

"Let me go, you oversized black turkey! Let go! Help! Heeellp!"

"KUMO!"

* * *

Yang watched with horror as Kumo was lifted off the ground, kicking and struggling to free himself from the claws that had ripped into his hoodie. He used his fists to punch and claw, but to no avail. His sword, having fallen off when he had been picked up, was too far away for him to use. He was being carried off unarmed, and he had done so to help Ruby.

The girl looked over to her sister, who pulled out her Rifle and began to fire shot after shot at the beast. Soon, Weiss and Blake came over to help with freeing the teen. Yang, feeling more than a little guilty at the moment for teasing him so much, rushed to aid the other huntresses in freeing him. As she began to let lose shot after shot from her gauntlets, she noticed all her and the others attacks where on mark, able to hit the bird's weak points with ease. Sadly, as they did so, the bird refused to let go of its hostage, continuing to gain altitude as it flew off.

Weiss gritted her teeth and tried to ready a glyph to send a large ice shard, but seemed to realize she may hit Kumo at the distance the Nevermore had gained. Ruby began to fire more and more, her expert marksmanship the only option at this point, a look of fierce determination on her face. Yang meanwhile desperately tried to look around for something, ANYTHING, to help out the guy who had just risked his life for Ruby.

* * *

Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren were horrified by the sight of Kumo being forced into the air, and to see the group try to take it down even as it climbed, it was... it struck a chord with Jaune.

"Nora, how high can you go with the blast from your hammer?" Jaune questioned, sudden authority in his voice.

"Uh... well, I suppose I could-"

"Good enough. Pyrrha, can you handle the blast from her weapon?"

"Yes!"

"Ren... keep it distracted and lower it down a little!"

"On it!"

Soon, the green shirted teen began to rapidly fire his shots at the beast's neck. His shots striking true, the beast seemed to take notice of the hits, turned out the neck was sensitive. It was enough to make it stop its climb and turn towards the group to attack. Screeching, it readied to fire more of its feathers. Before it could let loose the storm of black death, Pyrrha had taken a knee, shield held securely over her. Nora jumped atop the crimson haired beauties shield, hammer beneath her feet readying a blast. She pulled the trigger, launching herself with help from the shield bash of the female gladiator. Soaring high into the air at breakneck speeds, she flew towards her new friend.

"Woooo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Nora's joyous voice echoed throughout the forest.

* * *

Kumo knew the moment he saw the explosion that something bad was going to happen. Then he saw Nora fly up past him and over the Never more... then she begin to fall back down, holding her hammer in both hands above her head.

 _'She cannot be... there is no way... Oh… oh no...'_

"Nora, wait! NO, NORA! STOP!" Kumo pleaded-!

Too late.

"SMAAAAASH!" The hyperactive girl's voice bellowed.

The girl did indeed smash her hammer into the bird's mask, which surprisingly did not shatter from the force. It did cause the beast to scream in pain though, releasing Kumo in its surprise and pain. Both parties began to fall to the ground, the Nevermore seemingly knocked unconscious from the valkyries attack. The hooded teen made a vow as the feeling of weightlessness left him and he felt gravity begin pulling him down.

 _'No more flying. I am never going to enjoy the view from up high ever again.'_

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Kumo yelled in the manliest of ways he began to fall… fast. Racing down to the ground without any means to slow himself was not the way he thought he would go! He knew, the moment he landed, the speed he was falling at would most likely liquefy his insides, in others words he would be dead. He had used the Grapple hook and his swords in initiation, which now lay out of reach on the ground. He had no backup plan, his wires were way too heavy to be used for parachute making. If he tried using them to grasp a tree at this speed, he would hit the ground before he could pull them taught enough and swing to safety…

Suddenly, Kumo felt a hand wrap around his waist and pull him into a familiar chest.

"Wheeeee! Don't worry, Kumo! I got you! Ooh, oh, this is just like this morning, except this time I PULLED you into my chest! Is that offensive? Sorry! Hehe! I just didn't want you to go splat on the ground! I mean, you might make a big mess, and plus Ruby would be very sad, and I would be sad, and Yang would be sad, and Jaune would be sad, Weiss would be grossed out probably, Ren would miss you, Pyrhha and Blake would probably no handle it well either. OH! OH! OH, did you know I think Ruby has a crush on you! How would you? Are you psychic? If you were you'd know what I mean, not like crush where she crushed you against that tree, but the kind of crush where she likes you! Not that I know that for SURE. I mean I'M not psychic! Wouldn't that be AWESOME! You think Yang is thinking the same thing? I mean about Ruby not about me being psychic. Maybe Ruby just likes you a lot, like how I love pancakes! Except she doesn't want to eat you, but I do wanna eat! Pancakes, I mean, not you. I mean, I'm sure you're delicious, but- GAK!"

Thankfully, Nora had run out of breath (somehow) while using her hammer blasts to slow them during their descent to the ground. Kumo, with the back of his head on her chest as she held him one armed, closed his eyes and gave a sigh of relief. Not only was he not dead, but he could enjoy-

 _ **'STOP THAT BRAIN! NO! BAD HORMONES!**... Wait, did she say something about Ruby?'_

* * *

Ruby fell to her knees, a long breath of relief leaving her. She smiled knowing her friend was safe... and being smashed into Nora's chest. Suddenly, a little twinge caught in her chest, right near her heart. It was the first time she had ever felt it before, and it felt... cold. It felt like she was being hurt with a small knife, but there was no wound, or even a scratch. It wasn't real, but felt as if it was. How come? She had no idea, but she knew it hurt when she looked at Kumo being held tightly against the brightly smiling girl's chest.

 _'...I guess it is because he was my first friend here. Huh... am I afraid to lose him? But Nora's so nice! Weird... must be nothing. Kumo wouldn't stop being my friend because he had another one! Nope! He'd never do that; he even got caught by that big mean overgrown bird to help me... so why am I feeling like this...'_

These thoughts flew through her mind quickly as she slowly stood dusting herself off, but her smile was a just a little smaller now. She tried to shake off the feeling, but it wouldn't completely go away... until the two landed and Kumo slipped quickly out of the hammer girls grasp. Seeing him get away from her so fast, the little pain in her chest vanished. She was just happy he was okay again.

 _'What the heck is wrong with me? First I want him to kiss me again, and then I get a weird feeling in my chest when a friend is SAVING him. Stupid brain, stupid feelings, you make no sense. UGH! I wonder if Yang could help... probably not. I should ask Weiss once we get out of here, she seems smart.'_

* * *

Kumo smoothed out his hair, which Nora had once more taken to rubbing while they "floated" down to the earth. It was rapidly becoming a new addiction for her. It wasn't one that Kumo was really opposed to if it made her happy, but he hated having messy hair. Her rubbing felt surprisingly…nice really. The messy hair was a pet peeve though... strangely enough he wondered what Ruby's fingers would feel like. The girl had not even tried, but he doubted she would feel any worse than Nora. Hyper girl had a bit of an issue of tugging just a little too hard when she rubbed, but it was mostly nice.

Rushing back to the group Kumo was met with a playful (for her) punch to the arm by Yang, whose massively goofy grin was back on her face.

"The hero saves my sister and nearly dies doing it! Seriously thanks for that though... you might be a little lame sometimes, but you're there when it counts. Carful, you could make a girl 'fall' for you!" This made the blonde girl laugh at her own pun as Kumo sighed; he was doing that a lot lately, shaking his head. Ruby groaned at Yang's, admittedly clever, joke. But she looked confused also, but when she saw him looking at her, she ducked her head into her hood and tried to avoid his gaze.

"Uh... girls? Kumo?! REN! The Nevermore's getting back up!" Jaune's panicked voice broke through the haze of thoughts, as they all turned to the fallen creature. Kumo was honestly surprised, _'could've sworn she knocked it out.'_ Rising from the ground with hatred easily readable in its eyes, the Grimm began to try and take off. Immediately, Ruby's mind rushed... and then she remembered the neck trick Ren had used.

"Nora, grenades, keep it distracted!"

With a salute, Nora began bombarding the Grimm with bright pink explosions.

"Kumo, can you keep it still and from flying again?"

"Won't be easy, but I should be able to. You have a plan?"

"Currently, uuh… kinda? It's almost done... just keep it down!" The girl raced off with her comrades, the light bulb in her head seeming to brighten her face. Kumo nodded, trusting her to succeed, then turned to the beast with a small smirk and cracked his knuckles.

"Okay you feathery mother clucker! I think it is time... that you got GROUNDED!"

He swore as he finished his badass one liner, he heard everyone give loud groans and quiet snickers.

 _'...no one appreciates a good line.'_

* * *

Blake quickly threw her ribbon for Gambol Shroud around a tree, forming a slingshot. Yang used her immense strength to begin pulling it back for Ruby, gritting her teeth with the effort. Ahead of them, Kumo's wires were quickly tying up the bird with an almost... bondage…like…quality, _('NOT NOW BRAIN!')_ as he talked to himself inaudibly. Ruby, placing her scythe on the cloth, readied herself for the launch as Weiss set up a Glyph where it was needed to hold the ribbons tension and increase Ruby's speed.

"Only you would make a plan that is this crazy..." The heiress stated with slight humour.

"Can you make the shot?" Ruby had herself centered just right, and now she just needed the momentum. She did not see the smirk on Weiss' face, as she was focusing on perfecting and holding her stance.

"Can I...?" The confident Schnee replied with slight sarcasm.

For a moment, the two were silent, before Ruby blinked and looked over.

"Can y-?" Ruby worriedly questioned, the sarcasm completely lost to her.

"OF COURSE I CAN! JUST KILL THE STUPID THING!"

With that Weiss released the girl, who sailed forward and held her scythe behind her. Firing shots one after the other as fast as she could to increase her momentum. Pulling back her weapon she coiled her muscles as tightly as she could. With a battle cry and all her strength, Ruby swung her scythe...

* * *

Kumo's wires flexed and forced the bird's neck to remain still, exposed for a clean decapitation. Even under the incredible strain, his smirk never left his face; he shivered at the sight of the many wires.

"I forgot how good it feels to tie stuff up... heh, good thing I don't have a so much practice." That made him chuckle a little, remembering-

His thoughts were stopped cold as he saw Ruby, flying like a bullet through the air.

His whole mind went blank as she cut through the beast with ease. He could not move, so struck by her grace. His breath vanished as he saw under the illusion of being just a normal 15 year old girl. He saw a battle maiden, a warrior woman who could lead anyone to do anything. His heart seemed to stop a moment, but now it beat hard in his chest.

 _'...Oh wow. That's the type of girl you follow through hell and back. She's amazing, no wonder I can't stop thinking about her…'_

* * *

"Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie."

Standing near the stage with the others Kumo held his bag in his hand. He was frowning at the fact that not only did he NOT get an artifact; he also failed to get a partner. So with a deep feeling of resignation, he had grabbed his items as well as his swords, and begun to ready himself for the publicly humiliating walk of shame off campus. The four teens that had been called were made into Team JNPR (Juniper).

When Jaune was made leader, Kumo couldn't help but chuckle and smile.

 _'I know you can succeed Jaune... just gotta have confidence... take care of them. That's what matters, you're their knight, and you have to lead them from now on. May not have known you long, but take care of yourself my friend.'_

"Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long, step forward." Ozpin's voice boomed from the stage as the girls walked by, Ruby giving Kumo a puppy dog look. He smiled and, compelled by some other force in his mind, gently rubbed her head. The girl walked up the steps, as her team watched her.

Told of what they had retrieved, they were given the team name RWBY, with Ruby to lead them. Immediately, Kumo chocked on his spit and started coughing.

 _'Yea, that won't get confusing at all,'_ he thought, the sarcasm dripping off the thoughts in his head as he watched them all, happy to be part of a team, save for Weiss who seemed shocked. With a shrug, Kumo turned to leave, his head lowered with shame.

"Finally, would Kumo Ayakashi please come to the stage."

"Oh hell…" _'He probably has to publicly announce my failure. Eh, I can deal with that.'_ With those words both said and thought, the teen turned around, walked up the stairwell, and stood before Ozpin. The headmasters smile never leaving his face.

"You are the only one who did not retrieve a chess piece, or find a partner. You ventured alone, fought both a Death Stalker and a Nevermore, killing the former almost alone, and assisting greatly with the later. Those are impressive achievements, for someone who apparently _failed_ the exercise."

Immediately the whispers started up, wondering where Ozpin was heading with this. Kumo nervously rubbed his head and look down. _'So he is listing the achievements first, then? Make me feel worse for-'_

"Therefore, I am going to give you a choice. You may leave Beacon and join another academy... or, due to you lacking a partner and no first year teams lacking a member, you may become a 'Special Unit.' You will assist two other teams, accompanying them on missions as needed. During such time, you will be under the command of whichever team's leader you are assigned to. The choice is yours."

Kumo blinked, trying to sort through the facts to understand exactly what had just been offered. He... could stay? He could stay in Beacon with his new friends? Screw the other kingdoms, put him here!

"I think I would prefer being a Special Unit. Can I ask what teams I am to assist, as well which room I will be in?"

* * *

Kumo felt like doing back flips when he saw his room. It was part of the guest area, so unlike the other rooms this one had only one bed... which meant more room for him. Bigger than his room back home, he felt his whole body tingle with joy as he opened the window to breath in the evening air. A massive grin formed under his mask, when he realized:

He was alone. He somehow got his own room. No sisters, no brothers, no mother or father to suddenly bust in and invade his privacy! He was free to do anything, to view whatever he liked! And then...

His eyes drifted down to his bags, which he grabbed and opened quickly. He began unpacking his 'normal' books, spare masks, and some of his clothes. Quickly placing these in the appropriate places, Kumo removed a silver briefcase from the bottom of this particular bag. Placing it on his bed, he quickly looked around before removing his mask.

Inside, after punching in the code to unlock it, was... his guilty pleasure. No, not something dorky like you would assume, these were different. Kumo was kind of into… Ok, he was REALLY into BDSM. HE COULDN'T HELP IT! He loved it all! Spanking, wax, the feel of leather, just tying someone up, having control over them….it was AWESOME! He never got the chance to practice on others often, but he KNEW how to do it, and he was damn proud of that fact. He wouldn't ever do it to anyone who didn't want it (or deserve it), but that didn't mean he couldn't think about it!

Lying inside the case was a veritable library on the art of BDSM. Instructional books on any aspect he could find were present, with a focus on rope bondage. It helped with his semblance! Alongside these were his favourite series (most by a certain author), as well as the gifted kit which still remained unopened, from his fellow lover of all things perverse:

Micaela Arc, elder sister of Jaune Arc was this person. Writer of the "Ninja of Love" series, as well as other erotic novels, most that the public wouldn't dare admit to reading due to how steamy they were. But Kumo was not the public... he was a man with refined tastes who could appreciate the story, how it was enhanced by the steam. When he read her story, "The Warrior's Lust," he felt as if she could be as close a friend as anyone, a kindred spirit.

She was one of the few people who had known of his special interest... and she had given him the kit and books as payment for his help in one of her newer books. The first of a trilogy titled "The Butler of Beaugraund Lake." It was a series of Erotic Novels that detailed the forbidden love of a noble lady, unmarried and without even the hint of previous lust, and her butler, a man who drove her to the brink of insanity with his bondage and sadism. The book series had flown off the shelves, with people, discreetly, demanding to know where the author had gotten the idea for such a man. But Kumo had remained anonymous, as did Micaela. They had met when the Arcs, minus Jaune, had come to Vacuo for a friend. The two hit it off as friends after they had met in a….shop of ill repute, and it was only recently that he had met her beloved brother. Honestly, he felt rather happy at that coincidence.

He grinned as he placed his items back inside, closing and locking the case, Kumo hummed with joy as he slid it into the closet, away from prying eyes. This... this was his true self: The little closet sadistic that could only come out when he was alone. He was slightly put down he had to hide it, but if he didn't people wouldn't understand, people already thought he was a freak. So with a sigh, he put the case away, tucking it under several other cases which held some of his clothes, and hummed as he continued to unpack more boxes. As he finished one however, a noise at his open window made him freeze.

"Kyuu!"

* * *

Teams RWBY and JNPR were walking down the hall toward Kumo's room. With all of the excitement that had gone on, they had wanted to have him join in for a big pow wow. They had even ordered pizza, a whole one for everyone present. Yang, ever the glutton for the delicious meal, had bought two extras for herself, while Ruby had bought a second one in her order for Kumo.

For some reason, she found herself thinking about him a lot. She thought about how he would always stand there and talk with her, thanking her for being a good friend when he first came. She remembered that during the trip back, he had been very quiet, probably considering what he would have done since he didn't find a partner or grab a relic. She was sad that he was probably going to be kicked out… or so they all had thought.

Yang had tried to tease him to get him to smile and lighten up, but it only made him seem more depressed. Then they had learned that Kumo was going to get to be a Special Unit, and would be working with both teams Rwby and JNPR. How awesome was that! Now the mood was much brighter, and as Jaune led the way to Kumo's door she grinned. Jaune used his scroll (being commanding officer both he and Ruby had some access to his room) to unlock and enter the room... only for them all to come upon the site of Kumo stroking a bird…thing.

A red feathered very strange looking but ADORABLE bird thing.

The first detail everyone saw, besides the thing being red, was that it had no beak, instead possessing a tiny mouth like that of a cat. It also had a small horn. Its large black eyes blinked as it looked at everyone, seeming to posses more intelligence than at first glance, 'reminds me of how Zwei looks at everything.' It adjusted itself while examining them, flapping its oversized 4 foot wings to settle more on his shoulder. Kumo had no mask on now, but he did sport a small smile on his face that made Ruby's whole face flush red.

 _'...he looks... so handsome...why am I thinking that?!'_

The bird, giving a small tilt of its head, flapped the wings once more and slowly flew over to her, settling itself gently on her shoulder, careful not to hurt her with its talons, before nudging into her cheek. It gave a sort of purring chirp, which made her heart feel so mushy for it. Kumo, slipping on a new mask, walked over and stroked the bird's head, which caused it to flutter its massive wings and land back on his shoulder. Its long golden tail feathers wrapping around his sleeved arm affectionately.

"Heh... Hi everyone... this is Kyun, my oldest friend and partner from Vacuo. I have no idea what type of bird she is, or if she is even a bird at all, and I don't care... she is my companion, and one of my best friends." With that said Kumo walked over to a chair and smiled, sitting with the back facing everyone as he leaned in, watching them from the head rest.

"So... we got pizza, yeah? Are we having a party or something?"

* * *

 **As always, leave a review and follow.**


	5. Chapter 5

_**I am so sorry guys! This chapter took... Crap, over two weeks to make. I had to edit, add, delete... I didn't want you all to get bored with this story, so I had to change stuff up and what not. Now... I don't have an editor anymore, because of a falling out, so expect me to try and deliver more chapters but with a slight decrease in quality... I just never was good with grammer.**_

 _ **Also, if you have any questions, just ask! No spoilers will be given, but if you have a request or want to be my new editor, then drop me a message! As always... enjoy the new chapter!**_

 _ **(Wow, this intro was short.)**_

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

 **Feelings and Inhibitions**

 _"Good morning, Vacuo citizens! It's yo' boy, Ton Toreli, dropping the 411 on all yo' needs to know. And boy, do we gots stuff for you to know!"_

Kumo groaned as he cracked his eyes open slowly to the sunlight. ' _As Oum as my witness, I will despise that DJ...'_ the teen thought to himself. Beside him, his scroll's radio alarm went off, leaving him with a need to wake up and shower... but also a desire to sleep. He was not now, nor would he ever be, a morning person and he intended to keep himself more inclined for "sleeping through to the afternoon," type of sleep.

He had gotten a good amount of rest, since he and the others had devoured their pies and then decided to head to bed for classes. It was nice, to be able to relax in his own room. He always had to keep his eyes out back home for when his sisters would dig in his stuff for toys to play with. Yet he also had kept up a guard here as well, making sure to keep Nora out of his closet with subtle moves. However, Ren had picked up on the fact that there was something he wanted to keep hidden, which the teen appreciated greatly.

Sighing as he sat up, he smiled as he saw Kyun rested with her head under her wing, asleep even in this light. _'I need to invest in some blinds...'_ he thought, as he rubbed his back and slowly walked to his closet, grabbing his school uniform, before heading for a warm shower. If he was going to wake, he was going to need a shower, milk, and donuts.

The first of these was done in merely 15 minutes, which he relished with delight over having the hot water not run out on him. Living alone in a room, big benefits already became apparent. As he hopped out of the shower, drying himself, off, he heard his scroll still on radio.

 _"Oooh, sounds like we got's some bad times heading our way wit dat weather, Janey.. Alright, we at the 15 to the end of the hour, so we gon turn to the last bit of music. All you early risers, have fun. Sleepers? Heh, keep on dreamin..."_

Kumo shook his head, a chuckle in his throat as he put his contacts in carefully, then pulled on a pair of boxers. As he slid on his undershirt, a smile came on his face. To know it was so early, that was what he loved... wait. Vacuo and Vale had a time difference.

Slowly, his head turned down, as he pulled his mask on, turning on the GPS clock.

 _Time: 8: 45am._

"...oh... FUCK!"

* * *

"Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff...?" Yang rubbed her head, looking over how their beds were all piled up in the middle. Their stuff all placed on the walls and shelves, to make the whole place more of a home... except for how little room it left for them to sleep. It was a bit disheartening to see the work they did to personalize their room was making sleep a lot less... comfy.

"Well, we could maybe-" was what Ruby began to say, when a loud sound on a nearby wall made them all turn to the door.

 **THUNK!**

"OW! Crap, crap, crap!" Kumo's voice sounded hurried, but also in pain, as the girls looked out to see what was going on. Immediately, what greeted them was their Special Unit friend trying to pull his shirt on, his tie, chew on a donut, and carry his note books all at once.

"Late! We are gonna be late!" His muffled voice came from behind the donut, as Weiss looked at her watch and screamed.

"Oh my Oum, he's right! It's 8: 48! Classes begin in ten minutes!" Immediately, Kumo raced passed, having pulled the shirt over his head, the tie undone still as he ran. JNPR had heard the shout, and soon, both teams were racing with him in the lead. Ruby, wanting to catch up, sped herself with her semblance, before the two reached the stairs.

Without a second thought, the male swallowed down his food, then put his foot on the railing... and everyone realized: Kumo never wore shoes! He always had his feet in bindings, either black or white, and today was no different. But more, as he placed his second foot on the railing, the girls blinked as he breathed.

"See you guys in class!"

 _'He's not... WHAT!?'_

With that, Kumo jumped down the railings, dodging the other ones as he raced to the floor below... and then stopped near the ground, threads holding his hands up as he hung there, before he released them and dropped. With a smirk on her face, Yang walked to the railing and looked over it.

"Hey, Kumo!"

"Hmm? What is.. YANG!" With that, the girl had jumped off the railing next, and Kumo had to use his wires to catch her, before Ruby pulled Weiss with her and jumped to land on the two. Immediately, Kumo grunted with the extra weight, before all of them lowered to the ground.

"That was fun! We gotta do that again!" Yang grinned and stepped down onto the tile, as Weiss looked in fear at Ruby for that wild move, who was giggling as she held Kumo's neck. Immediately, JNPR was seen, with Nora preparing to...

 _'Oh... hell no!'_ The blonde brawler nearly had a heart attack as she raced to one side.

Kumo raced out of the way, dodging through the door as the girls screamed and followed him, as Nora jumped down the railing herself, using her hammer to slow her decent, amid Ren's yelling and Jaune and Pyrrha's commands for her to stop.

The two teams were soon racing down the walk ways, as Kumo carried Ruby on his back with no issue, a small smile visible under his mask. Yang, however, was watching with a small frown, worried about how close they seemed already.

 _'Maybe I should have a talk with Kum...oh crap!'_

"DUCK!" Kumo slid under a low bench being moved, bending back far enough to dodge it while sliding, but high enough to keep Ruby from being scraped up on the roughness. The others did their best to avoid it, but Jaune ended up falling on his face when he jumped over the back. Ruby, checking her scroll, squeaked as she saw the time.

"We have 3 minutes!"

* * *

Kumo felt like shooting himself in the foot for how stupid he was. He forgot to change his alarm, he forgot to change the radio, and now, his teams would be late for their first class. But as they burst through the doors, an idea struck him with the force of a hundred bolts of lighting.

"Everyone, grab on to me! I have an plan!" _'A dumb one, but a plan nonetheless!'_

Sure that everyone was giving him confused looks, the grip of Ruby was soon joined by others, before he ripped off his glove from one hand. Whipping his hand back, he threw his wires forward, grabbing a wall.. and pulled them tight as possible, then retracted them.

"AHHHHHH!" Everyone but Kumo screamed when they suddenly rushed forward, moving much faster than before. As they zipped through one hallway, Kumo ripped his other glove off with his covered mouth (a feat he did not question), then threw another wire down the next way. Soon, they were all zipping down the halls with speeds no one but Ruby could match.

Reaching the door of Professor Port, Kumo lifted his legs up and kicked the door open, before letting everyone go. With the skill they could summon, everyone aimed for chairs, before Kumo slammed in a chair next to Jaune, leaning back with a sigh and relaxed look, as everyone else looked like they had been through a tornado... just as the bell rang.

The two groups sighed in relief, with Yang giggling at the look of utter exhaustion on Kumo's face from using his whole body to move everyone at once. The teen, however, ignored her, trying to massage his aching muscles. 'That... was a dumb as hell idea... I think I popped them out..." Groaning with soreness, the teen popped his shoulders back in place, before rolling them in a circle. However, soon a familar feeling striding through his bangs was felt, as Nora looked to be in heaven.

Her hand, once more, had reached up to play with his hair, and Kumo was stuck having to look like some toy for her. Professor Port, a portly man that made Kumo question what the man did to be a Huntsman to this day, walked in from another door, humming as he held scrolls to the walls. Soon, the drawings fell down, showing several types of Grimm. (No picture of Creepers, however, which threw him for a loop. The one thing that nearly killed him and it was not on display?!)

"Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the Night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names." ( _'Oh boy, here we go...'_ Kumo thought to himself, putting one hand on his cheek as he sighed under his breath.) But I, hehe, refer to them as prey. And you all shall as well, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens for... (' _...DOES THIS GUY HAVE AN OFF SWITCH FOR THE DRAMA!? Good god, I feel like I am watching one of my mother's soap operas! If this guy mentions having someone else's baby, I will fucking SCREAM!_ ' Kumo's eyebrow was beginning to twitch from pure irritation from just this one teacher.)...where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses!" Here, the professor clicked his tounge at Yang, which the girl dismissed with a roll of her eyes. Kumo, however, could barely hold in a chuckle. Finally, he had some dirt on her to throw back in her face.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves. (' _Which immediately rules out everyone here but Jaune.'_ Kumo's eyes were beginning to close, but that thought made him sit up to find more jokes to make.) From what you ask? (' _No one did. Stop talking and get to the mother loving point!_ ') The very world!"

This caused a single student to cheer, but he quickly quieted down when everyone but Kumo turned to him. The masked teen, meanwhile, was tapping his foot on the floor. Checking his scroll, he saw that only 2 minutes had gone by, as a small stream of tears threatened to leak down his face.

 _'He just keeps talking... talking... talking talking talking! Does he have some semblance where he can literally BORE a Grimm to death?!'_

'That is what you are training to become... but first, a story."

 **THUNK!**

Kumo's head hit the table with a loud thud, making everyone but the professor look over. Shaking his head, the masked teen tapped his fingers on the desk, glaring as the man blabbed on. Ruby snickered as he raised his head, but then immediately looked away when he looked over. Yang, a smirk on her face, only bounced her chest at him when he gave her the next look, and once more... _How ya doing, hand-some?_

He needed to kill something,

"Which is when I took my mighty axe...!"

He needed to chop up a Grimm.

"With a mighty roar, the beast fell!"

He needed to cause something pain to get out of this hellish boredom.

"And that, my students, is what we are here today for! But, who here thinks-"

 _'...Need. To. Hurt. Something!'_

"They are a match for a beast? WHo thinks they are hunter material!?"

"I DO!"

Kumo had jumped to his feet, raising his hand, not even thinking about what he was saying... and then it hit him.

 _'What did I say?!'_

* * *

Kumo sighed as he stood in his normal attire, his gloves snapped on his hands, as his six swords hung off his body. Ahead of him, Professor Port held his axe musket in his hands, smirking at the boy with a proud look in his mustached face. In the sidelines, Ruby and Yang were cheering him on, as Blake smiled. Weiss, remaining silent, was watching him, and it made him feel tired. However, then came... Nora.

"WHOOO! Kick his butt, or its tail, or whatever, Kumo! K-U-M-O! K-U-M-O! Go karate king on its butt! Ku-mo! Ku-mo! Ku-mo! Use your Karate Chop action! Stick the swords in its rump! Make it run around in pain! KICK SOME TAIL! WHOOO-OOO!"

Kumo palmed his face, feeling a headache coming on. The other students were beginning to laugh, but Jaune cheered, as Pyrrha smiled, offering some actual advice.

"Remember to not give up! Wait for the exact moment and strike!"

Smiling a little at the actions of those whom he was quickly finding to be his friends, the masked and hooded teen reached to his sides, and nodded. With that, the professor hit the chain on the large, wide, rattling cage and set it open...

And half a dozen Beowolves rushed out, surrounding the teen with growls, claws as sharp as knives and teeth glistening with drool. Within the rest of the cage, two Razorbacks raced out, snuffing and snorting at him. Immediately, Professor Port's face was going full on pale.

"That... the cages must have been mixed by accident! Kumo! Quickly, boy, you must-!"

"I got this!" Grabbing the swords between his fingers, Kumo grinned under his mask, then raced toward one of the beasts, as Blake and Yang had jumped to their feet, ready to join the melee to help, as Weiss' own eyes had widened in shock.

"First... I whip it out...!" Talking low, under his breath, Kumo's swords flashed as he cut at the beasts, dodging their own slashes with ease. "Then... I thrust it in!" Immediately, the swords slammed inside the first Grimm's body, tearing through its skin with ease. Blake, the only one who could hear him, blinked as she heard him mutter.

 _'Those lines... it can't be...!'_

"With great force...!" His swords flashing as he stabbed and slashed, cutting through more and more Grimm, Kumo's grin grew under his mask. "Every angle... it penetrates!" Kumo's arms were a blur, his reflexes tensing with battle lust, as he felt his mind slowly ooze with no more tension to hold it back.

Blake's eyes were going more and more wide. The lines he spoke were from a part of Ninjas of Love, where Yakisamu, the Sadism Samurai, a master of a lance with two ends, had engaged in a battle with over a hundred men. He had spoken the same lines... and then, she could see it:

Kumo, dressed in the armor of the Red Armored male, killing so many men with that massive grin. Immediately, Blake knew it: Kumo read that story, and shared her love of erotic novels.

"Until, with great strength... I ram it in!" Kumo's blades smashed into a Razorback's body, cutting through the whole thing with a squeal, before he flicked his hands out, forcing his wires to swirl around, catching the remaining Grimm.

Soon, both Blake and Kumo were muttering the final lines together:

 _"In the end... we are all satisfied. And you... are set free."_

With those words, Kumo pulled his hands back, and with that, the Grimm were carved into dust, before he slowly brushed his hair back and sighed, a small smile forming.

"BRAVO! BRAVO, Mr Ayakashi! You are certainly a Grimm Killer extrodinare! Everyone, take note! This is what you should aspire to! Do not settle for merely good, but become like this young man, a master of hunting!"

Kumo felt his cheeks heat up. He had talked to himself, low and in hushed tones, but he had talked to himself and even become his... hidden self. Pulling the hood over his face more, he began to walk out of the class room, amid the small cheers of his teammates, save for Weiss, who was sure of two things:

One, Ruby could never be the leader that they needed. Two... Kumo was dangerous to Grimm.

* * *

Ruby and her team walked out of the classroom with grins, save for Weiss. The whole class had been talking about the way Kumo had kicked so much tail. (As Yang put it. Her puns were beginning to get a little funny, but it was still bad.) However, as Ruby turned to Weiss, the heiress merely snorted.

"If he hadn't let you take that artifact, he should have been leader... or me, even! Not someone like you..."

That made Ruby stop and blink. 'What is going on? Why is she so mad at me now...?'

"Where is this coming from Weiss?"

"Oh, you don't know?! You almost killed us with that Nevermore, you nearly killed yourself against that Deathstalker, and if it hadn't been for me and Kumo, you would be dead! Ozpin made a mistake. I have more training, more experience, and would be a better leader than a little girl like you!"

With that, the heiress stormed off, leaving Blake, Yang, and Ruby watching with differing looks. Ruby felt a bit down from that, as she reviewed all her actions. Soon, she realized: She was a bit of a child... and that she needed to prove herself now. Just because she was leader did not mean she could rush everything. Kumo had done it but seemed to have a plan... even if it had failed.

* * *

Kumo sat on the bench at the fighting class, located in the Arena, where Jaune and Cardin were duking it out on stage for their first "Aura in Combat" Class. He had them before, back in Cove. His hidden smile appeared as he remembered the Vacuo starting school. The few friends he had, the people he met... It was a bit sad, being so far from them, but he then remembered his first true friend who had already planned to move to Mistral, so it would have been boring.

Suddenly, Kumo saw Jaune take a hit that put him out of commission. The hooded and masked teen sighed as he watched his first friend at Beacon fall down to the ground, groaning from the hits. He might talk the talk, but he sure could not beat the beat. As the two walked off stage, the rest of team JNPR, sitting off ways, were trying to give him a cheering up, as Team RWBY (minus Weiss, who had stormed off after an argument with Ruby, he had heard) was trying to catch up on what Goodwitch was saying.

After the bell for lunch, Kumo had begun to walk out, but then Blake appeared, her eyes looking in his. For a single moment, he felt worried that she could see past him, see into his darkness... and then...

" _'With my soul bound to the sword,' she said, her hand on the blade of Hatake, 'I become your woman.'_ "

Kumo immediately remembered the scene from Ninjas of Love and nodded, then repeated the other half of the romantice line.

" _His breath caught in his chest, Hatake nodded and smiled, saying, 'And my sword shall become thy own. My soul shall not flee, nor shall it shirk, in its duty to defend you.'_ "

The two of them stared at each other and nodded slowly. So they shared a love of that series? It was nice, finally, to have someone to talk to with it. Of course, he was vowed to never tell Micaela's idenity to the world, not even to her fans, but it was still ok having someone who shared in delight over such beautiful smut.

"Hata Kuma fan or a Hata Saku fan?" The question he asked her was about whether she believed the main character would fall in love with the other ninja Kumaria or Sakura, the shrine maiden of the world. Immediately, Blake frowned at him.

"Hata Kuma! It must happen! The book is called Ninjas in Love, and-!"

"And it could mean anything, even if it means them falling in love with others." Kumo immediately regretted that, as Blake gave him a cold look of disdain that those who had love of their own couples could give with ease. The teen shrugged and smiled, then began to walk away, moving from the short hallway to the outdoors, while Blake stepped in beside him. Soon, Ruby and Yang joined the duo, as Blake kept her eyes ahead of them.

As the team was joined by JNPR, with Jaune looking very much distracted, Kumo slipped on his headphones from his neck, closing his eyes. He had a general sense of where he was going most of the time, and with the groups nearby, he was sure he would walk with ease into the cafeteria. For now, he focused on how Jaune had fought.

The teen had held his sword in a very poor manner, and his stance had left him open over and over again. It was clear that fighting was not his strong suite... but planning was. ' _I suppose,'_ Kumo thought to himself, _'I could just teach him to fight. Pyrrha and I could work as his partners. She would love that, having someone to help out her teammate. I get that vibe off of her.'_

A smile began to form on his face, as he walked with his team down a paved road to the cafeteria. However, when Ruby stopped in front of him, he immediately felt the tension in the air, as he opened his eyes... and saw Cardin picking on Velvet.

Cardin and the faunus girl were both the same age, but Cardin was often willing to just mess with ANYONE for the fun of it. However, his team would keep tugging at the girl's ears, making her wince in pain. The groups were glaring with anger at the teen, especially Blake.

"Hmph... That jerk needs to get taught a lesson, right Ku-... Kumo? Where'd he go?" The groups had seen him in the middle, but then he had vanished... and then reappeared, moving toward Cardin from behind.

* * *

"Hah! What a freak! These ears are real, alright. Dove, man, you should try this." Cardin's grin never left his face as he twisted Velvet's ear harder. The girl squeaked and tried to move away, but the other guys were holding her there. One of the guys shook his head, smirking as he roughly grabbed her butt.

"Nah, man... I wanna see if this freak has got a tail! She sure got one hell of an... huh? What the hell do you want, kid?"

Immediately, Dove had looked at Kumo, who stood behind Cardin with his head hidden in his hood. The bully frowned and turned around to face him.

"Yea? You got a prob-BURGH!"

Kumo's fist had shot forward, faster than the eye could see, and had smashed into his stomach hard enough to dent the armor he wore. Cardin's eyes bulged, as he gurgled with pain, before Kumo slowly raised his other fist up. For one moment, Cardin could swear his vision swam, before the other fist slammed in a circle, the back fist hard enough to send him flying into a tree.

For a second, it had looked like Kumo's arm had thickened, and his gloved fist had gotten bigger... three times bigger.

* * *

Kumo's backhand smash had sent the teen flying, as the other members of team CRDL had released Velvet in shock. Immediately, the Faunus girl rushed off, her eyes on the guy who had just stood up for her. However, the other members quickly recovered and glared at the teen, who raised his hand up, and beckoned them toward him.

Yelling with rage, two of the teens bum rushed the teen, who stepped to the side and tripped up one of them with a kick to his shins. Dove went down, yelling with a bit of pain, as Russel looked at his friend. With a grit of his teeth. he pulled his daggers out to stab the teen... and immediately, he regretted that.

With a flick of his wrists, Kumo pulled out three wires, then slammed his palm on the mohawk'd teen's chest hard. His other fist, pulled back, slammed into his jaw and sent the boy flying... only to come sailing back with a tug on the wires. What no one but Kumo had seen was that Yang, with a grin on her face, had joined the fight.

"WHOOO HOO!" Immediately, the Blonde Spit fire slammed her fist into the boy's chest, sending him back once more.

"Hehehe... Look, I made a Yo-yo," said Kumo, pulling the wires once more, as Yang snorted at the joke. The final member of the team who was NOT out cold, Sky Lark, looked at the duo with some fear, as Kumo slowly strode forward, cracking his knuckles through his gloves.

"You wanna do this Yang?" The girl, looking at him with a smirk, shook her head.

"Go have fun."

"Aww, you can be a sweetheart."

Immediately, Sky took off, yelling in fear from the two. However, Kumo's wires swung over and pulled him to face the teen, his arm held out with a Lariet stance.

"Surprise, mother fucker." Immediately, Kumo's elbow clothesline'd the male, who went down with a cold thud. The 4 members of a team of bullies, taken down by a hooded loner and a Blonde Flirt. Kumo dusted his gloves off with a smirk, then walked over to his team, humming a bit to himself.

 _'Now that was a badass line...'_

* * *

"There we were, in the middle of the night..."

"It was day."

"We were surrounded by Ursai."

"They were Beowolves."

Kumo felt like putting his headphones back on, pulling his book out and reading. The only thing that stopped him? The three girls sitting near him. He didn't want to get hit for trying to listen to music, because he could already tell, from the look that Ren gave him, it was a dream. The book, meanwhile, was the same book that had the Daemon armed male. He had just read the first chapter last night, and now he wanted to read more, before Yang got her hands on it. How he wanted to enjoy it, to see what the ritual would entail...

"Hundreds of them!"

"There were two of them."

"In the end, though, Ren and I beat them all and made a fortune on Ursa skin throw rugs!"

The teen sighed, as Nora settled back in her seat, a big grin on her face. Ren explained to everyone else about the whole thing being a dream. However, Kumo was not focused on what the teen said. Instead, he looked at Jaune, who was playing with his food, before he sighed and flicked his finger, sending a wire to cut the pea in half.

"Jaune, you already are skinny as Kyun. Eat more, or do I have to force feed you my homemade donuts?" The hooded figure frowned as he chewed on one of the caferia's inferior donuts, with little satisfaction. The blonde looked up, and saw everyone was watching him.

"Huh? Oh.. yea, I'm fine... just thinking about how cool you all are. Heh... Kumo, you can kick some serious butt." He tried to wave their concern away, but Pyrrha could see it, as Kumo could see the concern in her.

"Jaune... is Cardin bullying you?" THAT got Kumo's attention.

"Excuse me? Cardin is messing with one of my friends?" Immediately, the whole table felt the temperature lower by 40 degrees, with the words chilling as frost. Jaune shook his head and smiled in a fake way.

"No no! He's... he's a jerk to everyone! I mean, we just saw him mess with Velvet, so... I dunno, let's forget it and finish lunch. Sound cool?" The teen scarfed down his last bits, but Kumo could see the force he had in eating, the way he wanted to avoid it all. With a sigh, the teen readied to help out his first friend of Beacon when a hand tapped his shoulder.

"Hmm?" Looking over, Kumo was met by Velvet, the second year student he had helped out before. The girl looked down right embarrassed, but a small smile was on her face.

"T...thank you for helping me out there. N...not many people will help a Faunus girl like me, and... I know it might cause people to make fun of you, call you a Faunus lover, b-b-but thank-"

"No biggie. Back in Cove, the starter school i was at, my first friend was a Faunus. I defend people. It's part of my being." With those words, the teen stood up, dumped the trash off his tray and left behind the others, including a slightly upset Ruby.

* * *

Ruby sighed and checked over her notes for the 4th time, trying to make sense of the way a King Taijitsu's two heads worked. She remembered how Weiss had blown up at her, and that she had always been such a little girl, and that stuck in her mind. She didn't want to fail her team, and she didn't want to fail her friends. Most of all, she didn't want to fail...

 _'UGH! Stupid emotions! I don't wanna think about him! I gotta focus on work!'_ With a scrub on her hair. Ruby tried once more to rewrite a line that did nothing to explain the physics of two minds working as one.

"...Hey Ruby. How do you take your coffee?" Suddenly, a voice spoke to her left, and the girl slammed her book closed, crushing a finger. Squeaking a bit in pain, the girl sucked on her finger as she looked over to see Weiss, looking a bit conflicted.

"Uh... C...cream and five sugars." She blinked as she slowly watched the girl take an empty cup from the bed, then make more from the lone coffee maker on the table. Returning, Ruby sat the edge of her bed as Weiss, looking at the cup, handed it to her with a bite of her lip.

"...I did some thinking. I got some advice, and I realize... I was a brat. I mean, you are my team mate, and you made that dangerous, albeit skilled and very well thought out, plan in such a short time. You can lead us really well, but you probably need help... and I guess I can try to help you... but don't take this to mean I am totally fine with you as our leader! You are still younger than me!"

The heiress watched the girl, who smiled slightly and nodded, then adjusted the sleep mask on her head. Slowly, the two seemed to consider so much, before Weiss began to step down to her bed.

"Actually, Weiss, I need some help... it's... uh, how do I explain this..." Slowly, Ruby jumped down from her bed, sitting in a chair with her back to the sleeping Blake and Yang. Weiss, who had begun changing for bed, looked over to her teammate and blinked.

"Uh... what? You seem a heck of a lot more serious now."

Slowly, Ruby breathed in and then sighed. _'Here it goes...'_

"Ever since the forest, I have these... weird feelings for someone. It's not Jaune or Ren... Um... Let me back up a moment."

Slowly, the girl explained what happened before Weiss fell, how she and Kumo had crashed into each other, and ended up stealing each other's first kiss. During the fight with the Death stalker, she had rushed in not to prove herself, but to keep Kumo safe. When she had seen him with Nora, she explained, her chest felt really tight. It was the first time she had ever felt that way, and it was confusing.

Weiss sat on her bed, her white jacket off now as she absorbed the information. She had to admit, Kumo was a nice guy outside of combat. She had seen his notes after class, how he had written down whatever he remembered from the fights to keep intact. He was at least TRYING to be punctual like the others, and honestly, under that mask, he was kind of cute.

"...Have you talked to him about this?"

"I... want to, but whenever I see him, my face feels all hot and I can't look at him. And last night, I dreamt that I was being attacked by hundreds of Beowolves, and they took away my scythe somehow, and then... I remember smelling cinnamon. It... it's how he smells, his sweat." The girl blushed even redder, as she cleared her throat to go on. "I smelled it, and then all the Beowolves started dying really fast, and then he appeared and... UGH! This is so weird! Why do i feel like this?! I don't like it!"

Weiss frowned, very confused herself. She had always thought Ruby would just be this happy go lucky, easy going girl, but she had troubles just like everyone. Her troubles just happened to involve a guy. Slowly, the Schnee stood up and leaned on the bed.

:"Well... I think you could, maybe, consider what he's not so good at. What can you do that he seems to lack?" In her limited experience, Weiss had one idea that always had worked in the movies she watched about romantics. If one person worked with another with a weakness, then they could get closer without the blushing. It could lead to romantic, but it also could lead to sex. Honestly, however, she doubted Kumo was the guy who would want the latter BEFORE the first.

"I do have experience with my sc... Oh my Oum, Weiss you are a genius! He took forever to remake his weapons into that giant sword! Maybe we could work on designing it to be better for him! Maybe make it weigh less or something! That could work!"

* * *

Neither girl saw Yang's one eye open up, as she listened to the whole conversation about Kumo.

 _'So... my sister really is starting to like him? He doesn't seem to notice... maybe it's time I do a little pushing. I can trust a guy like him... and if not, I'll just kick his ass.'_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Regret and Realization**

Jaune hit his head on the wall. He wanted to hit his head so hard, he would either go out cold and lose all his memories, OR just pass out. He wanted to make this stupid blackmail thing go out of his head. Last week, he had exposed to Pyrrha, a red headed warrior of greatness, that he had faked his way to Beacon. Cardin Winchester, through some method of sniffing out a good bit of blackmail, had heard him. The bully then had made the blonde work as no more than his glorified slave, doing both of their homework and even being forced to sit with them at lunch.

He couldn't go to his team, because he felt like a moron for snapping at Pyrrha. She had just tried to help him, and what did he do? He said how he didn't want to be the lovable idiot. He had wanted to impress girls on his own. He yelled at her... just like a jerk would do. Now, here he was, suffering the form of torture that only Cardin could give. He hadn't been able to apologize to Pyrrha, because he assumed she was too mad at him. It left a rotten, black feeling in his soul.

With a groan, the knight fell to his knees and rubbed his head slowly. No plan had been able to form in his head, and no good ideas to escape what was really his fault would come to mind. If he told Goodwitch, he would be sent home for faking his transcripts. If he tried to run off, he'd lose his friends. If he was going to solve this, he needed someone who was good at solving problems. He needed someone smart. He needed help... from someone who knew about bullies and how to fix issues.

* * *

Jaune lifted the scroll in his hands toward the lock, then froze. If he was in his room and someone came in without knocking, he would be pretty angry. So, with a sigh, he raised his hand to the door, and knocked.

"Kumo? You in there? I... need some advice."

A groan was heard through the door, as well as the shuffling of feet. Slowly, the door opened, showing the teen in his usual outfit of a mask, a long sleeve shirt, his gloves, dark grey sleep pants and... vampire bat fuzzy slippers.

Jaune stared at the slippers. ' _That... was never going to be something I assumed he would wear. Huh... I guess he likes to be comfortable as well._ ' Suddenly. Kumo's tapping foot woke him up to see the teen giving a sleepy glare. "Oh, uh... sorry. Uh... Do you mind if I come in?"

Slowly, the teen slid to the side, showing the room that was actually pretty big, even with all the stuff inside. On the walls were diagrams for sword combinations, most likely from Ruby. A large, well polished sword rack held his swords. Kumo once mentioned that, no matter what, he would never let his swords be far from him. It was a bit confusing, but everyone, including a wise and thoughtful Pyrrha, had accepted this.

A few chairs were set up around a table, while a kettle sat on a shelf. Several gourds, about as big as his head and tanned different colors, were resting upon another shelf, with packets and also jars of tea set up. On the window sill, with a makeshift perch set up for her, Kyun was asleep under her wing, giving a musical snore as she did so.

Slowly, Kumo shuffled toward the kettle and filled it with water, as Jaune sat down to watch. ' _This is weird... I always thought Kumo would be more outgoing, but... this place seems more like someone who just enjoys a bit of privacy. Maybe I... no, no I need his help. Just have to find a way to ask him without seeming like a jerk. Like I was to Pyrrha..."_ With that, the knight lowered his head and frowned. He wished he could rewind time, let that be his Semblance, so he could stop himself from getting angry and then having Pyrrha be there as his support. Oum, this was so... ugh.

The light thud of a tea glass woke up Jaune from his daze, as Kumo placed a second one near the chair closest to the bathroom. He then began to boil water on a small hot plate. Taking a spoon, he measured out three scoops of tea, then began to mix with said hot water. Jaune felt a bit overwhelmed by the way he prepared just a simple pot of tea. But, as the tea was served up, Kumo sitting down in front of him, Jaune knew he had to explain his whole situation... and that included how he got into Beacon.

For a while, Kumo just sat there, his hands folded and supporting his head as he watched the knight explain how, at first, he attended Navy school, how he graduated with honors as a second in command of class, the highest rank a student could get. However, his Navy years were to replace the fact that, without the proper skills, he could not even join the Huntsmen Starter Schools. Because he never really grasped how Aura worked, he never unlocked his semblance. He never was able to unleash his true potential and thus, he could not attend.

Lying to his parents, he said that his Navy years had allowed him to skip starter school, but that he still wanted to go when he turned 17 and not before then. His family accepted and embraced that... but they also told him they would be fine if he failed. He knew that it was just there way of saying, "You will probably screw up."

Kumo just stared, as Jaune finished up with the events of last night. "So, Pyrrha and I just... talked, and then eventually I tell her about how I lied to get in. Then she says she can train me, and I, feeling like I need to prove myself... I yell at her. I yelled at my own partner, for no good reason. There is no reason I should have, in fact. I failed, it was my fault... and now Cardin knows and he's why I haven't been around. Why I hang out with him, laugh at those jerks... ugh... what do I do, man?"

Jaune slumped his head on the table, feeling both lighter and heavier than before. Kumo, sipping his warm tea, said nothing for a while. As they sat there, Jaune felt like a fool, like he should be kicked out for all that he'd done. Slowly, he reached to his tea, and took a drink... and blinked. The tea was incredibly delicious, to the point that some restaurants would pay good money for such a treat. However, Jaune was not here to discuss business, he was here for advice.

Finally, setting his glass down, Kumo looked at the teen.

"...I think you screwed up."

"Yep."

"I think you regret what you said."

"Mmhmm..."

"I think you want to beg Pyrrha to forgive you."

"...I do."

"...I think you should stop wasting time and go talk to her."

"I can't. If I do, she'd just be mad at me, because all I did was yell at her and she just wanted to help me. She tried to give me the answer to Oobleck's question about Faunus, and I failed that. She offers to train me, I fail to get that I need it. I failed so bad as a leader, and now... now I just want to rewind time."

"There are times we want to. It's called 'Regret.' You need to realize, however, with REAL regret comes real progress."

"Thanks for the fortune cookie answer... what should I do?"

Slowly, Kumo walked over and picked up Jaune's empty glass, as well as his own, and began to wash them in his bathroom sink. The two of them were silent for a while, with only the sound of water splashing the sound that filled the room. Finally, Kumo walked back out and wiped his hands, setting up the kettle on its shelf. Turning to Jaune, he tossed the boy his scroll, before giving a small smile under his mask.

"Tomorrow is our Field Trip to the woods. Get some rest, and when we come back, you and I will handle Cardin. Together. Knight and Samurai style."

"B... But..."

"And before we all come back? I want you to stand up to Cardin. I want you to show him that he can't push you around. Can you do that, my friend?"

For a moment, Jaune blinked, his mind conflicted with so many responses. He knew he was not skilled enough to handle the bully in a duel. He knew he was weaker... and yet he also knew that there was a chance that he might win if he was lucky.

"...No, but I can get a lucky hit in."

"That's standing up... now go get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow."

Jaune was about to leave, ready to face the day he would probably get his ass kicked, when he started to feel drained... and knowing Nora, she would want him to at least talk. He couldn't face his team just yet. Every night, he would come back and find them all asleep. However, since the homework had been easy, he had finished Cardin's and his school work early, there was time for Nora's special ability to trap him and make him talk.

"...mind if I spend the night in here?"

* * *

In the morning, Ruby gave a small, tired yawn as she dressed herself in her usual outfit. Behind her, Weiss was checking over a list of required items, while Blake and Yang were getting ready as they usually did: Blake always made sure her bow was on straight, and her dress was wrinkle free, while Yang... was currently bouncing to her music, dressed in only her black hot pants and a yellow shirt. Her team was weird... but she was glad to have them.

"When are we to leave?" Blake looked over to Weiss, her yellow eyes darting toward the list with a small but visible look of appreciation. Weiss was always there to make sure everything went perfect, even going so far as to set up times for everyone to wake up. It helped out so there would not be a repeat of the first day. The Schnee checked her watch and then her list, sighing.

"We have about two more hours. Strange for the whole school to have the field trip at once, but... I suppose this is to help us all as Hunters... Though sap collecting does not seem to fit well with the idea of Hunting Grimm." Weiss rubbed her head and gave a shake of it, looking rather confused but resigned. Yang, meanwhile, hummed as she pulled on her jacket slowly. Singing to herself, she slipped her bracelets on and grinned, looking excited as always.

"So Ruby, you gonna ask out Kumo today?" That brought a blush to the Reaper's face, who squeaked and hid her face in her hood. For the last 7 days, Kumo and her had been going over designs for his weapon. She learned that, not only did he have a full on Buster Blade when all six combined, but he had two other forms. One form required three swords each, but he seemed to like it very much. His other form... he refused to tell, and when she pestered him, she saw him clam up tightly and look as if he was unwilling to ever share that information.

With a shake of her head, Blake slapped Yang's arm, giving the sister a glare. Ruby might have feelings for the teen, but that did not mean she was to be easy prey for her sister's teasing. Kumo got enough of that, when ever she would call him "Hand-some" or "Mr. Frisky". Blake had learned why he was called that, and quite honestly, it was an accident. He didn't mean to get a handful. He didn't mean to land head first into Nora's front bumper. It was all just bad luck... or good luck, as some men would call it.

Ruby sighed and sat down in a chair, pulling her legs to her chest to help tie her boots up.

"I... I don't think Kumo would want to date me. I mean, when we talk, he's usually trying to make me smile, but then sometimes he just... clams up. He won't do much else other than just rub my hair when I feel sad, but... but..." Ruby shook her head, trying not to let her sadness seep into her voice. Weiss, looking a bit sad for her leader, bit her lip. She often saw Kumo's eyes dart from his work to look at her... and those times, he always seemed to be entranced by her. He would seem to fade out of reality and focus solely on Ruby, as if she were some sort of angel.

But then, sometimes his gaze would turn up and he would look even more depressed. He hid himself from the world, and there was no really good reason why. What was his reason to hide, if he was so attached to her?

Yang walked over and rubbed her sister's hair. She loved her baby sister to death, but sometimes, it wasn't apparent when someone liked you. Sometimes, the person who liked you didn't even know, but this wasn't the case. Kumo was head over heels, it looked like, and he was hiding it with all his being. She'd seen him carry her back to the room one night, putting her in bed after they had spent a few hours planning out his weapon or whatever. She'd seen him stroke her hair back, then walk out, a look of pain in his face. She felt... kind of bad for him. Yet, as he left, she also felt a pang of jealousy. No one had ever carried her to bed before, except for Taiyang.

 _'Kumo, you big jerk... you make it really hard not to fall for you. Just wish you would hurry up and ask out Ruby, before I start to. It's too much cuteness for me.'_

* * *

With the sisters prepared, Team RWBY walked out and knocked on JNPR's door. Immediately, Pyrrha opened the door, looking both angry and slightly worried.

"Have you guys seen Jaune? He didn't come back last night." The Amazon's red hair, while pulled into a pony tail, was slightly messy, which made Weiss' eyes go wide with shock and horror. Ruby, confused, only shrugged. Last she had seen the blonde, he was walking down to Kumo's room, a bit of conflict evident on his face. Explaining that to Pyrrha, however, led to the red head moving rather quickly down the hall. Behind her, the others stood by, watching with differing looks, from confusion, to slight enjoyment (Mostly from Nora), and even outright trying not to laugh (Yang).

Following her, they all found themselves outside the Special Unit's room, where the sound of drawers thudding could be heard.

"But Kumo... I just feel like she would not accept- OW!"

"Stop moving. Just say you are sorry after- pick your left arm up."

"I can't, you have me- ( **SNAP** ) AHHHOW!'

"I warned you."

"Oh Oum, that feels weirdly good!"

Every girl's face turned a dark red, eyes wide with shock, except for Nora's. Yang just stood there, grinning bigger and bigger as she reached for her scroll. Ruby, looking at her, gave a shake of her head, then lifted her hand to the door. However, Pyrrha grabbed her hand and shook her head, then placed her finger to her lips, as they listened in.

"W...where in Oum's name did you le-ARRRRN! how to do this? Oh my Oum, this is so weird..."

"You make it weird. I help my friends. Books."

"BOOKS TAUGHT YOU THE MAGIC FINGERS?! Good mother of Oum, where can I f-aaaaaaiiiiihhh!"

Jaune's girly screams were getting louder, before a final crack spelled the end of the session of whatever they were doing. The boy gave a final mewl that the girls could just barely hear, before the sound of a bunch of bed springs could be heard readjusting. Slowly, the sound of footsteps drew close to the door, and the two groups jumped back, looking nervously at the knob.

"So, are you going to tell Pyrrha? Or do you want her to keep being mad?"

Kumo's voice was now much clearer, as if he were standing before the door. Ruby, Yang, and the others all looked at Pyrrha, who was blinking and trying once more to listen, as Jaune could be heard sighing.

"...Do you think she will forgive me? I mean... I was a complete jerk. She's Pyrrha Nicos, and she deserves to be treated well, and what do I do? I get pissy with her. I get pissed off, and tell her that I don't need help... but I do. I'm weak, not as strong as you guys."

"Not true."

"Huh? What do you mean? You and Team RWBY took down the Nevermore, and it was because you handled holding that thing to the-'

"I got carried off. You and the others saved me. You showed great leadership... Now stop drooling and get dressed."

Oh, the thoughts that everyone that heard that were thinking.

* * *

In the forest, Kumo set down the fourth jar of sap down with a sigh. Wiping his brow with his sleeve, he cracked and popped his back, stretching to one side, then the other. Next to him, Pyrrha was setting up her own jars to fill with Sap. The others had gone to find more trees to tap, but the Amazon seemed content to pick any tree. Kumo, meanwhile, was having a bit of luck... after the first try sent a gush of the disgusting sap onto his foot.

Rolling his eyes, he had wondered if there were any draw backs... and then he heard the arguing. Turning to where Pyrrha was, he could already tell that she was trying to focus on the job at hand. So, with a sigh, he turned and began to walk down the path. Soon, he found the source... and gave a smile. _'Well, about time, Jaune.'_

The blonde knight was currently being told to throw sap at Pyrrha, but the argument came up when Jaune refused. The others began to mock him, saying that if he wanted to remain at Beacon, he would do as he was commanded. However (to the enjoyment of Kumo), he saw Jaune reach back... and throw the sap at Cardin's chest, covering his armor in the sickly sweet sap. Nodding to himself, Kumo leaned back on a tree, crossing his arms over his chest... only for Kyun to poke her head out of his hoodie, her horn gently scratching on his mask.

Cardin, Russel, Sky, and Dove were surrounding Jaune, who immediately did what Kumo expected: He fought back. He kicked, punched, and did what he could to actually show the bullies his real worth. However, eventually Dove and Russel had their arms around Jaune's, holding them behind his back. Cardin, pulling his fist back, began to punch down the knight's face and torso.

 _'Come on, Jaune... show them your true self: The knight who won't take shit from anyone.'_

Suddenly, a low roar echoed through the clearing where the group was fighting. Everyone looked around, even Kumo, only to freeze when they saw what the source was. A massive Ursa, covered in the largest bone spikes they had ever seen, was sniffing the air. It was smelling something that had brought it to them. It was like something so sweet was-

...Oh. The Sap.

"Kyun, get Pyrrha and the others. Make Daddy proud." With that, he pulled the zipper of his hoodie down half way, letting the bird flap out and rush down the forest toward the girls. Russel, Sky, and Dove raced past Kumo, seeming to not even notice the teen. Cardin, racing one way, was swatted by the massive Grimm, while Jaune was struck with shock. He watched the Grimm stand up, as did Kumo.

The hooded teen, seeing the beast ready to kill Cardin for the sap, raced forward with two swords in his hands. He was ready to help out even the leader of the bully team, when suddenly...

 **CLANK!**

Jaune's shield blocked the Ursa's claw, his arms slightly wobbling from the effort. Kumo blinked, staring at his friend's protecting his tormentor. With that, the knight to be began to attack, blocking the attacks with his body or his shield. However, even the teen with the mask could see, using his own scroll, the teen would not last much longer with his Aura.

One strike sent Jaune flying into a tree, crashing to the bark with a grunt. The Grimm, now enraged by the teen's actions, began charging, the glowing red eyes of hatred focused solely on him. As it drew closer, the blonde looked as if his whole life was flashing before his-

 **CRRRRAAAA-UNCH!**

Kumo's fist slammed into the Ursa's masked head hard, breaking a piece of the mask with a horrible sound. The teen shook his hand, before looking at Jaune with a smirk. "Not bad, but you might wanna try ducking the swipes. Now, do you wanna kill this thing?" The blonde teen blinked, then smirked and nodded, as they grabbed hands and was lifted up. The Ursa, standing slowly back up on it's hind legs, gave a deep growling roar... and then fell over from a blast.

Pyrrha, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang had appeared, weapons ready, as Yang cocked her fists and grinned, winking at Kumo.

"Aww, did you start the party? I wanted to play with Pooh Bear as well!" The hooded teen rolled his eyes, then pulled his hood down slowly, before pulling his gloves off. Rapidly, the wires slid over his fists, before more appeared and... turned into giant spikes on his knuckles.

"Ok, Jaune, Ruby, what's the plan? We got one Ursa here, and I-"

"GRRRWLLLL!" Soon, more Ursa appeared, as Cardin began to back up toward the girls. Kumo swore to Oum, if he survived this, the green eyed male was going to strangle him. He had to piss off the Ursa, he had to black mail Jaune, he had to just piss him off!

"Oooh... I hate god damn GRIMM!" Kumo gritted his teeth and rushed forward, as more and more wire slid down his arms onto the spikes, growing them larger and larger. Behind him, Jaune and Pyrrha were fighting together to take down Ursa themselves to the left of the clearing, as Ruby and Weiss were handling the ones from the right.

With a whoop, Yang landed beside Kumo, and grinned at him. "Sorry, _hand-some,_ but I couldn't resist coming to save your cute butt!"

If Kumo was not currently going all out on the Grimm, using the spiked knuckles to impale the heads with a half a ton of raging force, he would have blushed. Even so, he was feeling a bit of a heat rush to his cheeks, as he ducked a swipe from his side.

"Yang, I swear to god, if you aren't trying to get me and Ruby together, you either flirt with me or make me feel embarrassed for that one time. I didn't mean to grab them! It's my fault, and I aplog- OH SHIT!" He grabbed her arm and pulled them down, as two claws swiped from above to try and take their heads off. Yang, grinning, punched out and sent both creatures backward with force, before she straddled his chest.

"Hey, I like it when you blush. Besides, you and Ruby are adorkable! I just wish you would ask her out is all! I think I can trust you not to take advantage of her." She smirked and winked, before reloading her gauntlets and jumping off his chest to blast the head off a third Ursa.

"The reason I don't ask her out is because I don't deserve that honor! She is a girl of purity and kindness! Her soul is wonderful, kind, a treasure that can only be expressed through poetry, and if you haven't noticed, I am not exactly the best with writing poetry! Remember Oobleck's written to oral exam? I barely passed the test with a C minus!" With that said, he pulled his fist back and smashed his fist through one Grimm's head, before the spikes reformed into one large one, piercing all three in a row.

"Maybe you can try doing some thing else! I know Ruby likes you, that much is sure. Just gotta have some confid- AH!" The Blonde brawler tripped up on a root, landing on her back hard. Before she could move, a massive Ursa appeared before her and growled, slashing down toward her.

"YANG! NO!"

The yell that came from Kumo was scared, as if he really worried about her... and then he was in front of her, the slash going through his weakened Aura... and through his chest. His eyes wide with pain, he coughed and pulled his fist back, shoving the extended spear knuckle through the beast's head. Being the last one, the others had turned to help... and Ruby screamed.

"KUMO!" The hooded figure winched, holding his torso and coughed, blood spewing from his mouth as he winced. Every muscle that he ever had was now beginning to hate him with a passion. Stumbling forward, he tried to stay awake, before falling to the ground.

 _'Aw... shit... not like this... I actually wanted to take Ruby out to a... bak...er...y...'_ With that, his eyes rolled up, and the world went white.

* * *

Yang sat outside the infirmary, her head buried in her knees. All her fault, she believed. If she hadn't just been so flirty, so distracted by having fun, Kumo would be ok. He would be ok, and not laying in the school infirmary in the most critial condition. Apparently, there had been a powerful fungus inside the last Ursa's claws. They had made the wound worse AND it would not seal quickly. Kumo had a low recovery rate on his own, so they had requested special medicines.

Jaune and Pyrrha had apologized on the drive back, with the blonde knight looking at his friend with the shock and pain written clearly on his face. But worse... worse had been Ruby.

The Reaper had been begging Kumo to wake up, to open his eyes and say something, even a one liner! She had cried and screamed with fear, trying to do something to wake him up... but nothing. He remained silent, far from anyone's voice.

Yang's whole body shook with fear. She had just seen her friend, a guy who adored her sister, risk his whole life for her... and could now die for it. She'd never met a guy so selfless before... and worst of all? She might have crushed her sister's chance at love. The Reaper had been taken back to their room by Blake, who gave Kumo the look of pure sadness and prayed for him, and Weiss. The Schnee had tried to say that it wasn't Yang's fault, that Kumo "always rushed in head first, never really weighing his own safety."

It didn't matter.

Yang wrapped her arms around her legs and began sobbing. She had seen Kumo just a few hours earlier, before they had gone to that stupid forest. He had been smiling and looking so cute, even if he kept that damn mask on. But... but she remembered the day they walked in, and saw him without the mask. He hadn't just been cute, he looked... happy. He looked so incredibly happy and handsome, Yang felt a bit jealous about Ruby being of his affections. Why, though? Why was she jealous?

Slowly, the answer began to rise in her mind, even as the sadness of her friend possibly dying tried to stamp out all other thoughts besides him dying.

' _He's the knight you wanted when you were a little girl. He's the hero in those story books you read to Ruby when she was a baby. Kumo is the guy you-'_

"No... no no no! I cannot! I won't do that to Ruby! I... I can't...!" She pulled her arms and legs tighter, as her tears fell down her cheeks. Even as she denied it, even as she tried to think of other things, like maybe just his physical features, she knew it was true.

Kumo was like the heroic, self sacrificial knight that she'd wanted to love her... and she'd fallen hard for him. And now, he was fighting for his life in a critial condition.

* * *

Rate, Review, and tell me what you thought of this chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Awakening**

If there was ever a mother of all headaches, Kumo was feeling it. The pain was driving a stake deep into his brain, attacking his very mind and pounding into each and every thought. He knew he wasn't dead, but if the pain would not go away soon, he would end it himself. Reaching forward, Kumo slowly remembered small grains of the past.

 _'We.. were at the forest. Ursa attacked... Yang was flirting as us-'_

His eyes flew wide with horror. YANG! Oh dear Oum, was she safe?! And what about Ruby!? He tried to sit up, but a hand pressed down his chest, holding him to the bed.

"Rest, Kumo... you had a long, painful recovery. You gave your teams quite the scare for a long while. When they brought you in, some of the doctors were convinced you would die. You should thank Ozpin, as well as Oum, that you remain alive." Slowly, Goodwitch's face swam into view, as Kumo blinked and rubbed his eyes. His contacts were out, and for a moment, he panicked, ready to flee.

However, the blonde teacher's seldom seen smile appeared on her face, as she held out his contact case to him. Popping the now lubricated lens into his eyes, he gave a sigh. The teacher had been rather harsh during their evaluations on fighting, but sometimes, she would show the gentle side she had. It was the side of her that was best described as motherly, the side that you could always trust in.

Kumo felt his heart grow thick and heavy, as he lowered his eyes down to the sheets. Seeing that his torso was bandaged, he wondered where his clothes were... and saw Kyun resting atop his shredded hoodie and shirt.

"You are a very lucky person, Kumo... Not only did your bird find Ozpin and I, but she even was able to locate a rare fungus that countered what was in your system. She saved your life. It's why she's being allowed to stay, even though no pets SHOULD come to-"

"She's not my pet... she's like one of my children..."

Kumo gave a bit of a wince and stroked a hand down the bandages. Goodwitch, seeing the boy in distress, merely sat down on the bed and rubbed his hair in a parenting way. She had seen how worried everyone had been... especially Yang and Ruby. It wasn't a stretch to say that they had a large crush on him, if not outright love for the ash haired teen.

With a grunt, Kumo tried to sit up once more, his stomach growling loudly. "Do you mind helping me to the cafeteria? I feel the need for something greasy."

The blonde woman laughed and shook her head. "You must rest. You might have survived the ordeal, but you still need rest. After all, work yourself too hard and you will end up here. It's a bit of an issue when a student misses four days of cl-"

"I was out for four days?! Oh, Oum, Ruby and the others are gonna kill me!" He plopped back onto the bed, rubbing his face as he groaned. Goodwitch laughed to herself, shaking her head at his reaction. He might have issues with making himself safe, but with his good heart, honest ways, and self-sacrificing, it certainly blended well to make him a desirable man. It wasn't hard to see why Yang had wanted to stay near him.

"Just sit here for one more day... I will return soon. Yes, Kumo, I will bring you a meal, as well as the homework." She stood up, walking toward the door slowly, as her heels clacked on the tiles. He couldn't see the kind, warm smile on her face, nor did he see her leave his scroll on the table near the door. She knew where she was going next... she just hoped that she could convince the girl to come with her, instead of using force.

* * *

Ruby held her head in her arms, flicking the pencil slowly up the down sloping desk. Ever since they had come back from the field trip, her once perky, kind attitude had given way to melancholy. She would only talk when spoken to, and it would be in small, quiet sentences. She would not even crack a smile at things, did not make pictures of the teachers... she was shutting herself down and away from everyone.

Weiss copied down the notes on the board, ignoring Professor Port's ramblings about his own exploits. She had been able to catch almost every bit of the real information from the board AND from his twenty minute explanation about Griffons, a Grimm that could fly, stood tall enough to devour someone whole, and were able to use their claws to carry the person off for a deadly plummet. As she finished her notes, she then worked to copy them down for Ruby.

She had noticed how inactive their leader was. At first, she was angry. So what if Kumo was in the infirmary? He would survive... right?

But as the first day ended, she began to think about how much he meant to Ruby. He was the one to always make her really laugh. He listened to her ideas of new weapons. He brought her lunch along with his own. He was always the gentleman. He'd even carried her back to bed one night. She knew that there was something there... but to see her leader so torn up, it began to hurt her as well. Kumo was many things... and one of them was Ruby's knight.

Yet, he had jumped in to save Yang as well. It didn't mean he had feelings for her, but to know that he would risk his own life for someone else without a second thought... It could be a bit scary. Here was this guy who could make you so easily fall for him, and then just as easily he could die for someone else. He was the tragic heart breaker of those stories she loved back home... and now? Now she saw how really terrible tragedy could be.

Blake, for once since coming to Beacon, was trying to be the one to wake up Ruby. She tried to give the girl a nudge, thinking she might at least give a response of anger. Instead, Ruby buried her head in her arms and hid her face. The two girls looked up, frowning bigger. Perhaps they could go visit Kumo after class? It was supposed to be a free period after lunch for their team today, and then school was over till Monday. So, it stood to reason...

Professor Port, clearing his throat, alerted the girls to attention, as he stood before them. "I can understand why the young master Kumo is out. Would someone care to explain where Miss Xaio Long is?"

* * *

Yang cuddled the book, _"The Warrior's Lust"_ , to her chest.

For the past three days, she had been unwilling to even get out of bed. She didn't eat, and if Ruby didn't make her drink water, she wouldn't even do that or use the bathroom. Blake had been trying to tug her out of the bed when they would go to class.

She solved that issue by kicking the girl away and curling up tightly into a ball.

Yang blamed herself. She had always assumed that she could just flirt, cruise, and float her way down the rivers of life, without a single care in the world. She was always sure that she could bounce back from anything.

Then Kumo came around.

Sure, at first, he had been physically interesting. The whole _"shadows in darkness"_ thing was hot for some girls. Add in those eyes that glowed like emeralds, and he looked pretty knock out, hot as sin, sexy man of the year. But then you got to see him for who he was inside. He was kind, honest. When Yang had been struggling with homework once, he'd given her help the best he could without giving the answers. He wouldn't let her fail, he said, because she was important to him as a friend.

She remembered the first day Ruby and him came back from his room, her arms full of blueprints and ideas. She'd begun to bounce off the walls, even before she took her first cup of coffee. It hadn't been the idea of making new weapons, however. She got excited... because she had held Kumo's hand for a brief moment. Her cheeks were dark red, her face was cracking the biggest grin. She had looked as happy as Yang did when she'd had her first Strawberry Sunrise.

Kumo had made that big grin, and made Yang happy. He was always the sweet, adorkable guy that would provide Blake with a partner for reading, Weiss with someone she could discuss homework and what not, and he'd been the best thing for Ruby. Hell, even his one liners were the thing that Yang could find a great part of who he was. But then...

Then he'd taken that Ursa's claw to his chest.

He took that pain for her, and she'd been unable to do anything. Unable to process what happened for a while, Yang's shock had lasted until they finally got to the infirmary. Ruby had been sobbing loudly, heavily, unable to hold them back. Blake had looked as if she was ready to puke, she was so pale. Weiss... she had her own way to hide her feelings. When everyone else had walked the girl back to the room, Yang finally seemed to wake up. Kumo... was badly hurt, and possibly could die.

Then her feelings had woken up. All those feelings, jealousy over the fact that Ruby was the one who was always around Kumo, anger that he'd been so hurt by those monsters..and... as much as she hated that she was feeling it, she was feeling like... like Kumo belonged with her.

Holding a pillow to her head, she screamed into it. How unfair was it to fall for the ONE guy your younger sister liked?! There could have been more guys out there, but Kumo had wormed his way into her heart, just like he'd done so with Ruby! And the bad part? He had no idea about any of it! She'd once asked Kumo, when she and him had been sitting outside to study with JNPR, if he ever considered dating.

The masked teen had only shook his head, sighing. He explained that, to him, love would never come. He was a monster, he believed, though he never divulged why. Nora, being her bubbly self, had butted in and said that he looked more a male model, like Ren. That made both teens jump at the sudden idea. Pyrrha, having been upset with Jaune at the time, had only just given a small shake of her head and the slightest of smiles, as Ruby laughed loudly.

Laying on her bed, Yang sniffed and clutched the book tighter to her chest.

' _Damn it, Kumo... why...? Why did it have to be you? Why did you have to make me fall for you...!? Why is it you have to be the hero? What makes you so... so...?!'_ Her eyes tightly closed, the blonde girl began to sob. She hated to cry, especially in front of other people, but now it was just too painful not to.A sudden knock on the door was heard. It was too early for the others to come back, and no one seemed to check their rooms while they were at class. However, as the door opened, Goodwitch's face immediately told Yang what the reason was for.

"...I don't care about class... I can't focus when my... my best friend (lie) got hurt because I was too stupid to even look down. I can't focus, I don't want a meal, so just... skip the lecture, please? I really don't feel good."

The woman merely crossed her arms, as if waiting for the younger blonde to finish her speech, before merely smiling. "I require you at the infirmary. We have a few stops, so please come with me immediately."

Yang blinked, trying to understand what was going on, as she slipped down from her bunk. Goodwitch turned and led the way down the hall, her slung cape flapping gently with each motion she made. Yang, half exhausted from lack of sleep, dragged on behind her. Down the stairs, outside the dorms... It was a slow moving blur for the blonde, until the smell of food filled the air.

"I don't know why we are here. There is not-" was what she began to say, when her stomach gave a mighty growl. Immediately, the girl gave a dark red flush of her face, coughing in her hand to hide it as best she could. Glynda only smiled and walked to the chefs, ordering trays of massive amounts of food, including breakfast items, before she turned to Yang and gave her one.

"Come along, miss Xiao Long."

 _'Yea, yea... let's just get this over with...'_

* * *

Inside the infirmary, Glynda opened the door to Kumo's room, as Yang walked in, holding the tray in front of her with a deeply held back desire to devour everything. Maybe skipping meals had not been the best idea, after all. When they walked in, however, all thoughts of food, as well as skipping anything, fled their minds.

Kumo was gone.

"I told him to wait here! Ugh... that insubordinate-!" Glynda's face had gone from stoic to slightly pissed off, as she reached to her scroll... and then they heard the toilet flush.

Walking out of the door, dressed in his cargoes and a long sleeve shirt as well as a massive over jacket, decorated with the symbol that always formed his belt buckle, Kumo looked a bit tired, before he looked over at the two of them.

"Oh... hey Yang. I hope you aren't too-"

 **CRASH!**

Yang jumped onto Kumo and clung to his chest, hugging his body tightly after dropping the tray she held. Loud, muffled sobs pounded out of her, as her shoulders quivered with deep held sadness. Kumo looked as if he were ready to freeze up, but the sobs shook him out of it. Slowly, his glove covered hands stroked her hair, as he smiled.

"Heh... Talk about getting the day started with a _Yang_." His pun... that damn, stupid, lovablepun. With it alone, he broke her sadness and she hugged him tightly, crying louder.

 _'If I'm dreaming, I better never wake up... and if he's really alive and well, then let me never fall asleep.'_

* * *

Glynda smiled, then picked up the tray. The crashing had been minor, with only a glass of orange juice breaking. The plates were fine, the silver ware had landed ON the food, and the food was still in their place. It was rather lucky, really. Using her Semblance, she reset the tray on a table, then began to leave. She didn't think the two of them would do much besides hug.

After all, Kumo was about as oblivious as Ozpin could be.

* * *

 **Om, nom... nom...**

"Mmm... mm, mm mm!"

Sitting on his bed, Kumo tore into his chicken fried steak with a look of relish, groaning with joy over how good it tasted. Beside him, smacking her lips as she devoured her omelette, Yang was fighting not to choke. The two had hugged for a few minutes, just glad the other was safe, until the smell of food brought them back to reality and the need to eat broke them down. Now they were munching away, not a care in the world.

As the food shrunk down to half the size, Kumo collapsed against his pillow and sighed, smiling big under his mask. He felt so much more content, now that he was fuller. Yang, meanwhile, chugged down her Orange juice and belched, then fell back against his leg, rubbing her stomach with a huge grin. Kumo smirked and nudged her with his knee.

"You look better when you smile."

"Flirt."

"Pot calling the kettle black."

* * *

Yang giggled and turned her head toward him. Kumo had his arms under his head, watching the ceiling with a small, handsome smile still plastered over his face. For a moment, Yang felt as if something was missing... and then realized what it was. Kumo had kept his mask off! His new jacket's massive collar would hide his face when he closed it, but with the whole thing open, she could see every inch of his face.

She could see the corners of his lips, so gently sloping upward. His cheeks were a light pale, but there were defined cheek bones under the light. It didn't make him look creepy, however. It made his face more angular, like that movie star Horge Dooney. His eyes, the handsome pools of emerald she was beginning to fall into. Even his hair, which honestly had looked a little strange, seemed to be less like ash and more like silver. Dark spots of black mixed with the silver and gave him a sexy metallic look to his hair.

Over all... Kumo was hot as hell, inside and out.

Yang couldn't help the fact that she liked him. He was kind, easy on the eyes, adorkable, funny when he needed to be, and loyal to a fault. Oum knows how many women wanted that in their boyfriends, let alone husband.

That thought, of Kumo being a husband, suddenly made Yang snap into a rubber band effect. Where had that come from?! For a moment, she seemed totally shocked that such an idea could even pop into her mind. HER mind, of all people to think about marriage! Sure, she'd like to have kids someday, where she could spoil them rotten. Sure, coming home to someone who would not abandon her was a nice idea...

Suddenly, a finger flicked her forehead, as Kumo smirked at her, still hiding what were probably the cutest teeth ever.

"Stop doing that. You think so hard, and it makes your nose all scrunched up. It's not a good look for someone as beautiful as you." His warm words struck a cord in her heart. Sure, Kumo was known to say that every girl was beautiful, but it wasn't always obvious how... blunt, but kind, his words could affect people. Case in point, Yang's heart beat had sped up. To cover her blush, she gave a huge grin and winked.

"Now see? You are an enormous flirt. Guys like you, it's hard not to fall for... and that's why you should date m.. my sister!" The blonde brawler grinned that crooked, sexy smile of hers, before sitting up from his leg. As much as she wanted to have him to herself... Ruby was more important. So, as her big sister, she'd just step out of the way.

"Ehh... I dunno... I mean, maybe after tomorrow. The other schools are co... wait, did I miss that too!?" With that, the teen groaned and rubbed his eyes, looking rather distressed as he zipped his jacket up. As it traveled up to his face, however, Yang used her fingers to stop the zipper. Those emerald eyes suddenly opened and looked down at her.

With a smile, Yang sat on the edge of the bed, closer to him.

"You really shouldn't hide your face... you look really cute." With that, she grinned and leaned over, kissing his cheek. The boy, sporting a red face of embarrassment, only rolled his eyes and chuckled a bit.

"Miss Xiao Long, if I didn't know better, I'd swear you were trying to seduce me." Yang cracked up at that one, remembering that line from an old, slightly stupid movie. This time, she looked into his eyes fully, and leaned up to him, her lips now sporting a sexy smile that not even Kumo was able to look away from.

"Maybe I am..." With that, she pushed up to kiss his nose... RIGHT as the door banged open, as Weiss, Ruby, and Blake rushed the room.

"KUMO! I heard you are awa-...ke... Y...YANG!? WHY ARE YOU KISSING HIM?!" Ruby's face had gone from a joy filled, happy expression... and now she looked ready to murder her sister for some grievous sin. Yang had the good nature to shrug, but it was more to cover the blush that now matched the one on Kumo's face.

"Uhh... hi sis..."

"Well... this is a surprise..." Weiss, having been the second one in, had been able to still see Yang's blissfully happy face as she leaned in, kissing Kumo's cheek. She had looked happy, and that could mean only one thing...

 _'This is better and better... hehe... two sisters fighting over one guy? Oooh, this is better than a soap opera!'_

Oh, the fun of this little gossip...

* * *

 **As always... Review and follow, if you haven't already!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Why I Fight**

Weiss had no idea that drama could be so... detrimental to a team.

She'd always seen her Soap Operas (such as 'Where the Dust Blows', which was, by far, her favorite series ever. When Micael had come back from the Hunting Trip only to find out that Aiela was secretly having an affair with his convict brother, she'd been praying that the tension would get better. When Ziva and Odel switched places to help her find her long lost, thought-dead brother and found out that he was the father of her 20 years younger lover, she'd almost died of absolute love.) as the best form of entertainment. She'd dreamed of one day having a team that could have drama itself, one where passion and romance would mingle with the drama of real life! She'd wanted to have some whirlwind romantic story where she could intermingle and give advice! When Ruby had asked her about romancing Kumo, she'd felt giddy that night!

Then they had to walk in on Yang and Kumo.

Ruby had turned completely against her sister. She would give her only glares or pointed silence, while the Blonde girl tried to explain how she'd just been flirting with a friend. She'd not had any feelings for him, just was teasing him to be friendly! Of course, Weiss could see through that. Her second favorite Soap had a scenario just like this one! The sisters had eventually gotten into a fist fight, and the whole thing ended on a cliff hanger when a hidden figure (revealed to be the lover to be's stalker ex wife) shot the younger sister and killed her instantly. She doubted that Kumo would actually try and take advantage of either girl, nor would he probably have any one TO shoot Yang or Ruby. Not unless Weiss was asked... because now it was getting ridiculous.

Ruby had completely shut herself off from Yang, and the blonde Brawler tried every trick she could to get the girl to forgive her. Nothing worked, however; Not even fresh baked cookies would disentangle the girl from her limbs when in Yang's presence. She DID devour them all later when it had been just the Schnee and her, but when Yang came back, she only stated she threw them out the window. It wasn't like Ruby to get so... vengeful. Then again, the girl probably never had a boyfriend before. It... actually was kind of adorable to see her getting so jealous over her sister.

What wasn't adorable, however, would be the argument that had taken place after dinner. The two girls both volunteered to go take food up to Kumo's room. That led to Ruby immediately trying to "order" Yang to go back to her room, pulling the "leader" card. That actually made Yang a little ticked off, who began telling her sister that she was still older than the red hooded girl. Ruby took that to mean she wasn't fit to be a leader, so she stormed off. Yang, hitting her head with her fist, had raced off to apologize... and left Blake and Weiss alone in the cafeteria with a tray of food.

Blake, sensing that only a calm mind would prevail, asked Weiss to go talk to them. The Schnee merely sighed and shook her head. Stating that " _this is an issue they need to work out themselves,_ " she then walked out of the cafeteria and took a walk around the dorm to clear her head. As she walked, she was then by a grinning Jaune. He tried, once again, to woo her with a lilac flower.

The blonde teen had proceeded to ask her if she would be interested in going on a date with him to Vale, to check out some geeky movie with him. However, Weiss knew that he was just asking because she was of the Schnee Dust company, so he could weasel his way into the company After giving him a cold "No," she walked off, leaving him behind. She didn't like those who would use her name just to get a little fame. She was glad that Kumo wasn't like the others; He had his quiet moments, but overall, he was a gentle, kind guy. It wasn't his fault that he ended up in the midst of a love triangle.

Sitting up in bed, the Heiress sighed and shook her head. No way could she sleep. It could have been four am, but right now, her head was buzzing with the events of everything going on. She had to turn to what she used when she couldn't find out the answer to something. She had to rely on her secret weapon to battle sleepless nights.

She needed pie.

* * *

An hour later, humming to herself, Weiss walked down the hallway in her robe, carrying a pecan pie with a glass of milk and a fork. It had taken some looking, but she found one of the 'Emergency Sweets' she had hidden in Team RWBY's room. However, she also knew that if she stayed, she might have break more out, since Ruby had a nose for the sweetest food. She might be trying to be a friend, but she'd be damned before she gave up any of her back ups. For now, she would be content to sit out side and eat her p-.

She froze when she saw someone else outside, leaning over the railing of the balcony. At first, she had a hard time recognizing the cloak he wore, but soon enough, the bat slippers caught her eyes.

"Kumo? What in the world are you doing up so late?"

Immediately, the male had done a bit of a dance, grabbing something and hiding it behind him as he turned to face her. Her eyes began to narrow, as the Special Unit began to laugh nervously, looking at the Schnee with an " _Oh-shit-I-was-caught-doing-something-really-bad-act-innocent_ " look on his face.

"Hello, Weiss! Uh... enjoying the moonlight!"His eyes flicked around behind her, as if he was looking to see if she'd brought anyone with her. Obviously, he didn't want to be found doing something, and having been caught, now he was trying to minimize the damage. As he spoke, a few wafts of smoke seemed to just slip over his head, before vanishing in the span of a blink. It took Weiss a full two seconds for it to dawn on her.

" **ARE YOU SMOKING?!** " Her voice was high, angry, as she rushed toward him. Her hands grabbed for his cigarette, as Kumo tried to lean away from her. The Schnee began to claw his gloves, which caused his grip to slip and drop the half smoked stick to fall to the ground. Immediately, she stopped her heeled shoe on it. Kumo yelped and fell to his knees, looking absolutely hurt over the loss.

"Kumo Ayakashi, WHY in the name of the Holy Oum are you smoking?! Don't you know how unhealthy that is?! You just came back from nearly dying due to some fungal infection! Your lungs are no where NEAR fully healed, I would wager! This is absolutely... I... What in the world would possess you to smoke just after coming out of the hospital!? Your teams need you to be healthy! Smoking is going to kill you like a really bad... I... UGH! WHAT possessed you to come out here anyway for such a ridiculous, stupid idea?!"

Weiss glared full on now, her arms crossed and her foot tapping on the ground.

' _He's so stupid! Honestly, what person comes out of a 4 day coma only to smoke!? He's so... I take it back, he deserves this drama!_ ' Her thoughts were more than slightly poisonous, but she had seen how drugs and alcohol affected people. She heard horror stories of Hunters who, unable to think clearly without some form of relaxant, would start fights with Grimm and lead to the deaths of people. It scared her just a little to think one of her own comrades might actually be addicted to something.

Slowly, Kumo sighed and rubbed his head, his jacket's high collar hiding his face as he stepped over to a bench. Sitting down slowly, he seemed to be looking past the moment, as if trying to find a reason. Weiss, for all her bluster, felt her mood shift. There seemed to be something in his mind, something he wasn't sure if he SHOULD say. Slowly, Weiss took a seat by him and frowned.

"Kumo...?"

"...I started my smoking back in Cove. It was after... Ok, no, let me back up. You must understand my past... to understand my issue. I started Cove when I was 13 years old. I was one of the two youngest of my whole class, and during that time, I was pretty much sure that I would never find a friend. Then... then I met someone who was my complete opposite. Someone who I earned the loyalty of, and he earned mine."

* * *

Yang gave a yawn as she sat up in bed, cracking her back. She had fallen asleep relatively early for her, and now she was paying for it by waking up at 5 am. The saving grace was, there would be no class for them for a few weeks, which was nice. The problem, however, was not about sleep... it was about Ruby.

She didn't want to hurt her sister. She didn't mean to get caught flirting with Kumo. She'd kissed his cheek just so she could have a chance. Now she might very well have shattered her baby sister's heart. If she was to fix things... she had to try it now.

Slipping out of bed, Yang walked over to Ruby, before noticing that Weiss was gone. Confused, she knelt down and checked under the bed, then the closet. With a bit of a worry, she then opened the door to the bathroom, and shook her head.

 _'Where did she go...? Ok, now this is getting bad.'_ She remembered how there had been stories of some guys sneaking into girls rooms and stealing away the least strongest member of a team, then selling them on the open slave market to make a dark buck. With that thought dug into her mind, Yang turned back to Ruby's bed and shook the girl's foot.

"Rubes! Ruby, wake up! Weiss is missing! She's not in the bathroom, and I have no idea where she is! Wake up!" The Blonde Brawler shook her sister harder, as the dark-red haired girl groaned and sat up slowly. The girl gave a frown, as if trying to decide whether this was a trick, but when she tipped her head over the bed, she seemed to worry as well. The two quietly slipped on longer pants, as well as robes, before grabbing a flash light.

As the two slipped out of the room, leaving Blake behind, Yang held Ruby's hand. Immediately, Ruby tried to pull her hand free, but the blonde only shook her head. This had to be said, because if she lost Ruby to anything before she did, she would be in pain for the rest of her life.

"Ruby, can we talk? Look... I wasn't trying to take away Kumo... I think he likes you a lot more than he would ever like me. When we were fighting those Grimm, he said that he wasn't worthy of dating you, that you were too pure for him... I think he's really liking you, but I would be lying if I said I didn't... feel jealous..."

Ruby blinked and looked at Yang. Her face was contorted into one of disbelief and confusion, as she blinked.

"Why are you... I mean, you flirt with guys so much, and yet you don't take anyone out on dates... Not even that one guy, uh... Caldo? Carson?"

"No, his name was Kai... and he wasn't really into ME as a person, just... just my body. It's why I didn't want to date anyone, Rubes. I flirt because I want to find that guy who, even though I flirt with him, he comes to appreciate me for who I am... I don't want to be some trophy that gets tossed aside when I get a scar. I don't want to get weighed down by gifts and stuff, to keep me in one place. Kumo... he's just that guy you know would try to keep up with you... even you, little sis."

Yang felt her gaze lower, her heart beginning to grow heavy. Kumo was probably the closest thing to a guy worth dating since she'd taken an interest in boys. He never hurt her physically or emotionally. In fact, he'd probably try to defend her honor, if anything. He always had some witty retort or one liner that could be so... funny. Ok, so sometimes he had one that failed horribly. Like when he told that creeper that he'd not "see him next fall" after kicking it over the cliff. When she flirted, did he get angry or lash out, or take advantage of her? Never. He only got embarrassed and tried to slip out of grasp. It was so... unfair.

Slowly, Ruby moved closer and gave her sister a small hug. That finally made the Blonde Brawler have a bit of a break, as her eyes teared up. Always, her sister could make her cry just with a hug, or a smile. She always knew how to make things so emotional. For a while, the two sisters hugged it out, then stepped back, as Ruby gave a small, sweet smile. It was the first one Yang had seen in a little while, and how she had missed it dearly.

"I'm sorry for getting jealous, Yang... it's just... this is the first time I ever felt this way for some one. Kumo seems so cool, but also so nice. He's always trying to keep me on my studies, he's always there for a listening ear... I just... I wish I knew how to make him fall in love with me... Because when I see another girl give him a look, I feel so jealous... I'm flat chested, almost like Weiss, and I don't have her powerful intelligence... I'm not smart, I am not like you and beautiful... I don't want to lose Kumo to anyone."

Yang smiled and rubbed her sister's head. Oh, to believe that love could be so simple as to rely on just the physical parts of a woman's looks. She'd known that some girls developed unnatrual fixations on how they SHOULD look, thanks to society always stating that a girl needed to have the latest shoes or the biggest breasts or the smallest waist or whatever.

"That's easy... just tell the big lug how you feel. I promise, I won't stand in your w-"

"Yang, do you like Kumo?"

Immediately, the Blonde Brawler turned a dark shade of red, which she tried to hide in the shadows of the hallway. However, Ruby's grip held her in place, as her younger sister looked in her eyes.

' _Damn it, she's really perceptive! Heh... I guess that's my fault, since I told her all about love since she was little. But... ugh, I guess I should just come clean. This way, I can be strong and face the rejection with all my heart!'_

"Do I like Kumo? Yea... and I mean more than just a friend, Ruby. But... You like him as well, so I should-"

"I... read somewhere that two girls could date the same guy... if he's willing to give them both equal amounts of love. Is that true?" Ruby gave a bit of a shoulder rub. She loved her sister, even if the girl had flirted with Kumo to the point of even kissing his cheek. To be fair, Kumo had not exactly been up front on who he liked, so maybe she could be more flexible.

Now Yang was sure that someone was corrupting her sister. But as much as she wanted to kill who ever told her sister such an idea, to insinuate that two girls would date the same guy, it... didn't all feel bad.

"Well... I mean, yea, I guess... but Ruby, I can't do that to you! I love you way too much to see you hurting... So I'll just..."

Slowly, Ruby's big hug came back around Yang's waist, as she smiled at her big sister's face.

"Let's wait till we know how Kumo feels... and before that, let's go find Weiss. She's probably out for a walk, talking about Heiress stuff with her personal assistant!"

* * *

"...So we became good friends after that... He'd always help me out with people, since I barely talked... and I helped him with homework. My mother and father, they loved him... and so did my siblings. He just fell in with us, and it... was nice. His family and mine bonded over so much... all because I stepped in to help him."

Weiss sat there, staring at Kumo's explanation. He'd earned a friend... doing that? She'd never expected him to be so... so conflict ready. To protect someone and then have them become like a brother... it was just like Kumo. However, here he sighed and covered his face.

"Then we met two more people... their names were Irdah and Susanno... The love birds, we called them. Every where one went, the other was close behind. They were engaged, actually, since they were five years old. Never learned how, but when they met, they become good friends, then about... 15 years old, they started to fall in love. It's... it's what led to this.

"The four of us were eating some of my home cooking. Cove had just finished school for the year, so we were enjoying out two month vacation. Our first order of business was simple: We wanted to grab a burger at my house... and then the bomb dropped on me. See, turns out that the two of them had been... active."

Weiss felt her cheeks heat up, her eyes going wide as she stared. _'T...there is no way...'_

"S...she got...?"

"Triplets. They had found out 2 months earlier, and had to decide something very important. Finally, Irdah agreed to hold off her training for a year, which would have been fine. She was the best student ever. I just wanted to become a Huntsman to make money while I worked as a travelling chef. But... then they asked me something." Kumo's hand twitched as he placed it on his knee. "They asked me... to be the Godfather of their children."

If Kumo was able to read her mind, he would have seen Weiss' mind going all kinds of ways, from Soap Opera's to even drama television. Soon, however, she caught on that he was saying more.

"What did I know about kids? What did I know about raising them? Nothing... Never had a date, and here I was, asked to be the God father of three children. I dreaded it for months. When Cove opened back up and Irdah was not there, I kept wishing that... that I would be reconsidered. Then, one day, Susanno got the call from my mother, whom had been visiting with Irdah to give her some extra stuff to do with babies. I... never really understood that part, where women give away stuff to help out with children. We all were allowed to leave, and he drove us to the hospital... However, only I was allowed to join Susanno. I dreaded the steps, the walk.. then I saw the three girls.

"...I... I never felt such regret for my thoughts. I looked at all three girls and fell to my knees, begging forgiveness from Oum. I was so stupid, and blind... So I did what any good uncle does. I began to do all kinds of research on raising kids. I spent a few months just learning what brand of diapers to buy the kids.. I was so proud... until it happened..."

Weiss looked at him with a bit of worry. His tone had changed several times. At first, he sounded panicked, afraid, but then he changed to one of joy and happiness. Now, however... now he sounded much darker, sadder.

"...It was a year and a half ago. Uncle Kumo had all these gifts for his baby nieces. He was all dressed up, ready to give them teddy bears and stuffed lions and... and..." Clearing his throat, taking a breath, Kumo lowered his head into hand, trying to stay calm. "...The house had been ripped apart. I saw the roof was caved in, I saw the walls were smashed. I was terrified. I was beyond terrified, I was in shock. I raced inside the house..."

* * *

 _"IRDAH! SUSANNO! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Kumo's eyes were searching everywhere over the rubble of the house. Huge, black feathers littered the ground, and spent casings of guns were everywhere. Blood... oh mother of Oum, the blood!_

 _Kumo felt his lunch rising up his throat, as he ran through the rooms of the one story home. His breath was growing short, his vision fading. He was having an anxiety attack, he was sure they had to be-!_

 _He found Susanno first. The man had been... had been cut in half by a feather, his eyes open in a horrible stare of death. Immediately, Kumo ran out of the living room, puking in the sink and coughing as he did so. The blood filled the air, and now that he'd seen the body, he felt his shock hitting his legs and turning them to jelly._

 _Then, he heard crying... the three crying children, still alive._

 _Power surged through his whole form, as Kumo felt himself fly out of the kitchen. Racing toward the sound, he saw the girls all in a crib... with Irdah still hanging on. Her gaping side wound did nothing to stop the loving smile on her face, as she pointed to the girls and then to him. Immediately, he fell to his knees._

 _"Oh Oum... I am so sorry! I am so... so sorry...! Please, please ho...hold on for the medics! I... Ir...Irdah?" His voice was shaking, as he sniffed and cried, tears falling out of his eyes. However, the woman's warm smile and kind eyes were still locked on his... and they didn't move when he stood up to shake her shoulders gently. His hands were covered in blood, his eyes as wide as a mad man's as he tried to wake her from death._

 _"Irdah...!? Irdah?! IRDAH!"_

* * *

Kumo held his face in his hands, shaking with the effort to not cry.

Failing that, his tears fell down his face as he sniffed and gave shuddering, deep sobs, his pain easily felt.

Weiss stared in shock, horror... and absolute pain. Slowly, her arms wrapped around his torso and pulled him in, rocking slowly. She'd never expected Kumo of all people to break down. He'd always seemed so strong, so stoic. She figured he wouldn't cry for anything, even if he was kicked in the most tender of areas. But this... this wasn't just sadness.

This was a poison that had been circling his whole body for years, and now, he could let it go. No matter how badly he wanted to keep it all inside.

"I...I failed my friends... I failed to protect them, and now their daughters are gonna... gonna grow up never knowing their smiling faces... They won't...(Sob)." Kumo's voice was muffled, but those tears were not. Slowly, the Schnee looked up and saw Yang and Ruby standing there, their faces pale. They had to have heard the story... they must have seen his break down.

Ruby's eyes were full of tears, her hands over her mouth as she looked like she wanted to join him in a good cry. How much could one guy take before he finally broke apart? How much more did he have to suffer before the world would finally stop trying to kill him with suffering? To lose his best friends, people he had known and cared for...

Yang was just as bad. She'd remembered how badly Taiyang had taken the death of Summer Rose. She remembered the nights he would go drinking, then come home and beg forgiveness to his daughters for losing their mother. Yang had become strong, because she knew that even strong men could cry... and this? This was the ultimate proof.

"S...so this is why I became a Huntsman, W...Weiss... So I c...could keep others from ever having to lose another loved one again. If I have to... I will fight every G...Grimm... with my bare hands..."

Slowly, his crying tapered off into sniffs, before he seemed to just fall back against the bench, his eyes closed in slumber. He'd cried himself to sleep... and Yang was the first to pick him up by one arm. Ruby, taking the other arm, helped the best she could. Weiss saw the two give a nod toward each other, and she realized something.

Sometimes, a little tragedy can bring hearts much much closer.

* * *

 ** _PLEASE review and give your comments on how you felt this chapter went!_**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **A Friend Appears, and a Secret Discovered**

Ruby watched as Weiss hummed and smiled, walking around the room without, for once, her usual cold demeanor. After almost a full week, Beacon's classes and training was, without a doubt, getting less difficult for everyone. When they had first began, they had felt sore all over. They even had passed out in their usual clothes once, and Weiss complained that she'd wrinkled her dress.

Over the constant training, however, they began to build an endurance to the training. Now, even the weakest in the sense, Weiss, was able to at least change her clothing now before she slumped in her bunk bed. A few weeks of high training, however, had done more than make them physically stronger. Each of the girls felt a bond with the others, and it was nice... even if Blake usually opted to just stay quiet and read rather than actually talk. But there were moments when she would join the fun as well.

Team JNPR also was helping to make everything so much more fun. Jaune's constant attempts to woo Weiss were usually shot down. He wasn't a bad guy, but he did try too hard. Pyrrha's kindness was able to get Ruby's shell down some what. Nora was usually the spunky one and Ruby blended well with her. The two would often come up with hair brained schemes to fight Grimm, while Ren would just offer the facts of how they would never work.

But then there was Kumo.

He was probably the biggest bond the two groups had. He would always be the stoic yet kind guy that Ren admitted was very close to being like a brother. He could also bake donuts and cakes that made Nora so extremely giddy. His love of sweets matched Ruby well, and they would often share tea and cookies over the plans of weaponry. Yang and him usually made really bad one liners and puns, causing the whole school to dub them the "Pun-ishers." Weiss and Blake appreciated his quiet moments, when he would either study or just read. Yet, out of the two groups, it was he who probably had the biggest worries.

Being a Godfather of three girls at the age of 17, often making phone calls when he thought he was alone to check on them... He was probably the closest thing to being an overprotective dad. Yang once had mentioned, when every one got ready for bed one night, that "I pity the poor guy who pressures HIS daughter into Prom Sex." That made all the girls laugh at the joke, even as Ruby's cheeks burned warm.

When he wasn't doing school work or planning with Ruby, however, he was doing something just as noble: He took time out every night to go up to the roof and train with Jaune and Pyrrha. The three would have mock fights, often up to three hours long, and then they would head back to their rooms. Sometimes, however, Jaune and Kumo would head back to the latter's room and talk.

No one knew what they talked about, but when they did, Jaune would spend the next day trying to impress Weiss... which he could not do very well. But he also would help out Pyrrha with her chores. It was strange, seeing the Blonde Knight-to-be carry boxes for his partner, even when she would try to carry some for him. He struggled, but those times would make Pyrrha happier. Especially when Jaune would say how kind and awesome she was.

It wasn't hard for Yang and Ruby to catch onto what was going on, however. Pyrrha Nicos had fallen for the dumb boy, and he had no idea.

"You think Jaune is ever gonna catch the hint?" Ruby kicked her feet as she sat in her bed, waiting for her partner to finish combing her hair for the hundredth time. Yang was tossing the book she got from Kumo in the air, frowning with thought.

"Possible, but she'd probably have to kiss his dumb face. Heh... You know, I wonder if Jaune and Kumo are related? Both of them have girls that are falling in love, and they have no idea. This is just like with Tai and Miho first meeting. Cept Kumo's not having big wings and doesn't wear armor... I checked under that shirt~!"

Ruby tossed a cat pillow at her sister, catching her in the face.

"You did not!"

"Hehe... Ok, guilty... I wish I did though... anyone else notice how weird it is, the way he tries to prevent anyone from touching his stomach? I mean, we tried to when we carried him to bed, but... Well, i did, but Ruby's not exactly graceful," Yang mused, before swinging her feet to the edge of the bed. Ruby, her eyes locked on her sister, ignored the poke at her sense of balance and frowned.

It was strange, she had to admit. No matter how sweaty or hot he got, unlike Ren and Jaune, Kumo would never remove his jacket to cool off. He kept saying that it would be better not to, but that made no sense. He confused EVERYONE with those cryptic lines, and honestly, Ruby was beginning to worry. What if he got hurt so badly and no one saw the blood?

That Ursa's claw had torn into his chest pretty bad, and even torn up his hoodie and shirt. Now he wore that oversized, super high collared trench jacket. The benefits of such a jacket, besides it allowing them to always see his face, were apparent when he added a small metal perch for Kyun. The bird like creature was not only allowed to stay by Kumo, but in class rooms, she would often fly over to the teacher's desk and help give papers. She'd quickly become the most beloved mascot of Beacon.

Of course, since she was constantly on Kumo's shoulder, nipping at him when she got hungry, this had another effect... One that Ruby and Yang hated intensely.

* * *

 _"OH MY GOD, SHE'S CUTE!"_

 _"Oh oh, can I pet her head?!"_

 _"Lemme feed her next!"_

 _"Kyuuu!"_

 _"Awwwww!"_

 _Kumo sat at his table, surrounded by giggling girls holding food or playing with Kyun's head. The bird creature preened and fluffed herself up, looking rather proud to be played with. Offered meat and seeds, she even ate broccoli, which made her a favorite of Ruby. The problem, however, was that the girls were getting a bit too close for her and Yang's comfort._

 _"Uh... girls, why don't you all go ahead and sit at your tables with your teams?" 'Please, before Yang jumps up and tries to kill you all.' Kumo's request was not only ignored, but soon the girls were beginning to play with his hair as well, asking him questions._

 _"So, Kumo, you have a beautiful bird... do you have a beautiful girlfriend?" One girl, Cecilia, asked him, her dark blue eyes staring into his. Kumo tried to move away, but the crush of women around him made THAT impossible. With a nervous chuckle, he tried to move the hands of his head, as Nora bit her pancake with a bit of an annoyed look. He knew SHE wanted to play with his hair, and the girls were making that impossible._

 _"M...me? A girlfriend? Heheh... Uh, not... not really.. I doubt there is anyone interested in a guy like me! I mean, I shi... Uh... Pff, heh! Never came up!" ' Pleasehelppleasehelppleasehelp!' His eyes were darting around for some way to run, to get out of the enclosing girl. She was much more outgoing than some of her posse, that was for sure. Then... she put her hand on his chest._

 _"Aww, don't be so shy! We all heard about you, Mr hero~! Say, why don't you come to my doom room with me? We could... talk about-"_

 ** _CLICK-CHIK!_**

 _"Get. Your. Hand. Off. Him." Yang's voice had never sounded so scary before, as her Ember Celica was cocked and ready for a hit. Immediately, the girls behind him rushed back, leaving Kumo with no way to hold himself up. Immediately, he fell over and groaned, feeling stupid for what had happened. Meanwhile, Cecilia pouted and gave Yang a cold look, before stomping off._

 _For a moment, Kumo remained laying down on the bench, as beside him, Ren and Jaune strained not to laugh._

 _"Thank you, Yang."_

* * *

"I can't believe how... nervous he got. Heh, he's cuter when he turns all shy, but that hero stuff is true... he's a good guy, and I doubt... eh, never mind." Yang slipped off the bed and hummed as she put her scroll in one pocket. Ruby, however, knew what her sister was implying. She did have feelings just like Ruby, and the two of them had yet to even clue Kumo in.

"Speaking of whom, Ruby, would you tell Kumo to meet us at the docks? We need to meet the other schools and present them with the elegance they deserve. I feel it would be prudent to make sure that-"

 **THUMP! Cush-cush-cush...**

Everyone froze in their actions, before turning to the door. They had heard the door of JNPR open up and the sound of footsteps rushing away... down the stairs. None of JNPR had texted them about anything to do with school, and the only one who ran ANYWHERE was Nora. She usually babbled when she ran, so who ever left the room...

Slowly, the girls poked out of the door, looking into the hallway. Kumo, dressed in his usual attire, was running down the hall with what looked like... excitement? Now what would make him so happy? Did he win a lottery?

Jaune and Pyrrha walked to the door, only to see the other team already looking. Immediately, Pyrrha smiled and crossed her arms.

"He told us that he just got a message. Apparently... Kumo's first ever friend is coming to Beacon in about two hours, with his daughters."

* * *

Kumo felt like the happiest man in the world. Racing down the streets of Vale, a huge grin on his face, he felt his happiness flood his whole being.

"Hehe... here I come girls! Papa is gonna be at the docks!" Kumo felt so happy, his eyes began to tear up. The issue was, however, that the contacts he wore made crying hurt. Turning from the main street, he sighed and slipped in an alley. With a wince, he pulled them out, then sighed, putting them inside the container. Daring not to venture into the street, he reached into another pocket... and removed a pair of glasses.

Slipping them on, he activated the special Dust lens, and felt the energy hum within them. Walking back out, his emerald eyes flicked around, before he finally caught on to where to run next.

'Miia, Aricena, Moka! I can't wait to see my three little girls again! Can't believe that my parents let them go see their 'uncle' before me, but... heh, what do I care! I get to see my baby girls! Oh, I gotta make them sweets! I know, some peppermint candy cakes! No no, my homemade Strawberry Shortcake! Oh, maybe even some-' Was what his mind raced, as he rushed down the stairs. At the docks, however, he was met by a yell.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU NO GOOD STOWAWAYS!"

Out of a ship, a blonde Monkey Faunus raced out, laughing as he held three girls in his arms. Dressed in a white, open shirt that exposed his muscled form, he would get a lot of girls to notice him. Around his neck, a pendant was swinging, before he jumped up to a lamp post and grinned, using his tail to hold himself there. His arms had red wrist bracers, while his legs had bandages.

Immediately, two of the girls climbed to his back, before pulling his cheeks and making his mouth wider.

"Bleeeeh! Let's go girls! We gotta go find big Papa Kumo!" Immediately, the teen jumped over two detectives, then took off running. Kumo, who had gone unnoticed due to standing half in the shadows, only smiled and shook his head.

 _'Still the same trickster I see... eh, Sun?'_

* * *

Sun Wukong carried the three kids with a huge grin over his face, turning to flip the bird at the detectives... and froze.

"Ehhh... nah. I doubt your dad would be happy if I taught you that!" With the hand lowered, Sun adjusted and raced further away, moving into an alleyway. The detectives, meanwhile, were drawing closer.

"Stop you! COME BA-AAAAAAAAHHH!"

"WHOOOAOAAAHH!"

Suddenly, Sun stopped and turned, looking over to the detectives... and nearly burst into laughter. The two men were hanging over a balcony, their feet held up by what appeared to be webbing. At least, it looked like it... until Sun tilted his head and saw the shine of metal.

"Well, you boys look... tied up at the moment."

Kumo smirked a bit under his collar as he walked out from the shadows, adjusting the wires so that the men would hang a bit higher up. Grinning, he turned to Sun... and immediately, all thre girls slammed into his chest.

"PAPA!"

Laughing as he fell over, Kumo hugged his three girls tightly, taking notice of how they looked. Dressed in beautiful silk shirts and flowing skirts, they all had the same general traits. Pink hair from their mother, dark skin from both parents, and slightly slanted eyes. However, there were some differences.

Moka had the orange eyes of her father, with her nose ever so slightly turned up due to a small issue when she was born. Her hair was easily the longest, reaching to the middle of her back in one free flowing fall of pink. She was also slightly shorter, which made her long hair even longer looking.

Miia was the tomboy, if she kept her look. Her hair was short, and often framed her face. She always was saying (in that way that little kids who can barely speak say) how she wanted short hair. Her eyes were a beautiful peach color. She stood as the middle height, which was a nice touch.

Aricena was, without a doubt, the tallest of the trio. Hard not to notice, she was about 6 inches taller than her sisters, which made her look like she was older. That crooked grin and hair that draped over her shoulders, however, was totally kid like. She also had a bandage on her nose, covering up a birthmark that looked like she had a little scar on her face. She would also cry over it, so one day, Kumo just covered it with a bandage and grinned, acting as if it had vanished.

Over all, what could Kumo say? His three daughters were gonna break men's hearts, that was for sure... and when they left the nest, he was gonna cry like a little baby for a full day.

"What, no hug for the Uncle? I brought them here!" Sun's huge grin never left his face, as Kumo smirked and stood up, then walked to the teen. The two shared a hand slap, then pulled in for the hug. It was just like old times... and speaking of old times...

"Hehe... this remind of you of anything, Sun?"

"How could I forget? The day we met, you saved my A-(AHEM! Language...)... my tail, from Mr Mongol?"

* * *

 **(4 and a Half Years Ago)**

 _"You foul freak! Return to the mess YOU made immediately or I will make you clean it with that disgusting mouth of yours! Wukong!"_

 _Sun raced down the stairwell with a huff, careful to avoid the grabbing hands of his 'teacher' (AKA, torture fetish loving bastard) Mr Mongol. The man had taken Sun's lunch away, stating that he had to file all the papers he 'misplaced' before he could be allowed to eat. When he finished, the time to eat was over, so he snuck to the bathroom. The bastard only followed and proceeded to try and force Sun's lunch into the trash... which ended up being crushed by the fatter man's hands and spilt to the floor._

 _"You are the one who spilled it! You clean it up! LEAVE ME ALONE, YA BASTARD!"_

 _"You fucking little monkey! I will see to it that you spend the rest of the year cleaning my-AHHHH!" The teacher gave a girlish scream, tripped by something. Immediately, he began rolling down the stairs and fell out the window, crashing to the ground and landing with a thud that Sun swore made the whole building shake._

 _Slowly, Sun looked out the window, then to the stair... and saw a thread was hanging off the lowest rail, set to a height that would trip anyone if they didn't see it. Sun had not, but he'd been fine... so who-?_

 _"...you ok?" A quiet, cool voice was heard behind Sun. The teen turned around, his white shirt half undone due to the heat. With a smile, Sun nodded and looked at the source of the voice: A hooded teen, no older than he was, with his whole body covered up. Not even his eyes were visible, hidden behind sunglasses._

 _"Dang, man... you wearing enough clothing?"_

* * *

"Hard to believe we got away from that event with no punishment. But then again, the teach WAS known to be kind of on his way out... so..." Sun shrugged his shoulders, smiling at his freind. The teens had grown up together, and never had there been a more... contrasting paring.

Sun was tanned and often tried to expose his chest, while Kumo's skin was like moonlight, what little could be seen. The monkey faunus was blonde and had short hair, while Kumo's hair was silver and was quick to grow out. Very few people would notice... unless they looked under his high collar. They would be able to see, since the start of school, Kumo's hair had gone from the short back to actually forming a bit of a mane.

"Heh... so, where are you staying? I figured you would have stayed in Vacuo." Slowly, the two friends began to walk, as the three little girls hung onto their Godfather's neck.

"Beacon... Man, I got a lot to tell you..."

* * *

"Look, the White Fang are a bunch of Faunus Freaks that want to wipe humanity out of the planet! Why would you want to defend them!?" Weiss crossed her arms, staring at Blake with a frown etched into her face. Team RWBY had met at the docks, but then they overheard about a runaway Faunus stowaway as well as a break-in at a local dust shop. Weiss immediately began to say how so many Faunus were becoming more and more dangerous, and that the White Fang was even worse.

Blake, meanwhile, had taken up the defense of the Faunus, trying to say that not all of Faunus kind was bad. What of Velvet, the shy Rabbit girl that they had become... distant friends with? People could be evil, and so could Faunus, but the White Fang, she argued, were just misguided. Thus, a massive argument had begun between the White Weiss and the Black Blake. Ruby and Yang were unable to take either side, but soon Weiss was giving an even angier look.

"You want to know why I hate the White Fang? Let me tell you something: The White Fang killed people I knew! People who I knew for months, sometimes even years, would suddenly disappear and never come back! My father would come home and he would make me study and train every day and night, just so I could be perfect to handle the company AND be a huntress! My family life was not easy, my childhood was not easy, and do you know why? Because the White Fang are murders, thieves, and liars!"

"WELL, MAYBE WE WERE TIRED OF BEING PUSHED AROUND!" Blake yelled, feeling the hatred she had felt for those who had beaten her, called her names... and then she realized what she said. Yang and Ruby blinked, staring at her with confusion. Weiss, horror in her gaze, backed up.

"W...what I me..." Blake felt her body temperature lowering, getting colder as she felt more and more fear.

"Blake... you... are you... were you a part of the White Fang?" Kumo's voice was... muted. Slowly, she turned to him, and saw him standing there. His eyes were locked on hers, confused and trying to understand. The girl looked around... then dashed off, scared out of her mind by the look on her face.

"Blake, wait!" Ruby tried to stop the girl, but she was gone, running down an alleyway. Within the darkness, she disappeared, as a Monkey Faunus beside Kumo nudged him.

"Kumo, who-?"

"Sun, go find her, and keep her safe. She's a team mate of mine... can I trust-?"

"Absolutely." With that, the Faunus, Sun, took off, chasing after her without a second question. His tail bobbed out of sight, as Kumo turned to the rest of Team RWBY, holding three girls in his arms.

"...So what's going on?"

* * *

 _ **Ok, sorry for the rush job! I wanted to get this out before the end of Valentine's day, as a gift to all my fans! Oh, and to whom ever asked... Yes, I do think calling them the Red Hot Sands Paring is the best idea ever.**_

 _ **Review, like and follow!**_


	10. Chapter 10 (End of Part 1)

_**Chapter 10**_

 _ **The Truth Revealed**_

"BLAKE!"

"BLAAAKE! WHERE ARE YOU!"

"BLAKE! GET BACK HERE WITH SUN, OR I WILL GIVE YOU BOTH HELL! I NEED TIME WITH MY DAUGHTERS!"

"K...Kumo, I don't think that is helping very much," Ruby said, her eyes turning toward the now irritable teen. His glasses covered eyes, which made him look more... intellectually handsome, darted over the buildings. Not given a response, she knew exactly how he felt. He'd just gotten to hug his daughters in the morning, but then he had to go with Team RWBY to find the missing Blake. For two days now, they had been stuck at Beacon, playing with either Team CVFY or Kyuun, who turned out to be the perfect baby sitter. For now, they were hanging out with Velvet and Coco, which was something the Faunus girl absolutely adored.

"Weiss, you should be helping!" Ruby turned to her partner, feeling a bit distressed that she refused to even call out for the girl. Ever since the dark haired girl had run off, Weiss had been brooding silently to herself, rarely speaking about anything. When someone would recommend a new way of searching, Weiss would just look more sealed in.

Not this time, however.

"Oh, I'm sorry! You know who could help us out the most? THE POLICE! They might know where to find a former criminal of the W-" was all she got out of her mouth before Kumo slapped his hand over her mouth. For once, he actually looked... a bit ticked off.

"We are not putting OUR teammate in jail. She never tried to hurt us, and if I remember Weiss, was it not Blake who beat down Cardin for you when he tried to cop a feel? Oh, and what about when she helped Ruby make cookies for YOU? Hmm? You think she's just some evil girl, a criminal... but you never seem to catch the real part of how criminals work." Weiss blinked, staring at Kumo with confusion. He'd always been quiet enough to balance out Yang and Ruby.

However, with this... new side of him, she saw his loyalty toward friends. It was why she could appreciate the fact of him being on their team. Sort of. Before she could respond, however, Ruby cleared her throat.

"Uh... why don't we split up? Weiss, you and Yang go together, and me and Kumo will go down and try to find her near the Dust Shops." Ruby was sure that Yang would object, possibly due to the fact that she liked Kumo as much as Ruby did. What she DIDN'T expect was Yang to smile and agree.

"Ok. I think that would work! Kumo, you got our Scroll numbers, yea?" She looked at the formerly hooded teen, who nodded. Ever since the event at the Emerald Forest, the two teams had swapped Scroll numbers so they could find each other. It helped when Jaune and Kumo needed to do some extra training, and did NOT want the others asking why.

They had tried over and over to reach Blake on her scroll, but she refused to pick up. When Kumo tried Sun, he only got a message saying that they were fine, and not to worry. Obviously, this was not good enough for the group. Kumo did not mind waiting for their friend, since he had always seemed to have faith in his team.

Everyone else... well, they HAD been making progress. But as in all things, there were slips.

* * *

Kumo cracked his neck slightly as he walked beside Ruby with a frown. For over two hours, they had checked every tea store, every book shop, even the alley ways. Nothing at all had led them to clues where they could find their missing friend. It was beginning to worry the teen, since if they could not find Blake, they would not find Sun. Thanks to the large collar Kumo had, however, Ruby did not see the worry growing on his face.

"Hey... um... Kumo? There's something I need to talk to you about," the red hooded girl asked. Her voice, for the first time in a long while, was rather... quiet. She sounded as if she were trying to pick each word out with a magnifying glass and a pair of tweezers.

'Huh... she's never been this quiet before... No, wait, when we first met... heh, that first night... She never DID apologize for nearly killing me with that trip incident...'

"Yea? What's up, R- RUBY LOOK OUT!" He turned toward her, ready to answer... right as she walked into another girl. The two immediately fell over and slammed onto the ground. Ruby, horrified, jumped to her feet and squeaked.

"I am so sorry! I didn't mean... I mean... Oh my Oum, I am so sorry! Are you ok?"

"Hello there! It's a pleasure to meet you!" The girl's response... was not at all what either of them were expecting. Kumo blinked, as Ruby slowly got to her feet. Her cheeks had turned a dark red of embarrassment. The two of them stared at the girl, who stared back as she laid on the ground. Finally, feeling awkward, Kumo bent down and held his hand to her.

"Uhh... here, let me help you stand..."

"Thank you! My name is Penny Polendina! I came from... Atlas! My father was a bit worried that I would get into trouble, but I simply had to explore this town!"

'...Well... she seems a bit... uh...' Kumo tried to think of some word to describe the girl. However, what ever could come up with always came up with him comparing her to Nora. It wasn't too hard, since both girls were hyper, funny in that 'I-have-no-off-switch-just-a-dial" way. However, Penny had less of a chest, and was rather plain. Of course, their hair was the same color, so there was that similarity.

"Soooo... uh, Penny? Nice to meet you. Good Travels, my fellow traveler of life. Carry on, my comrade."

"Take care, friend!"

With that, the duo began walking off. It wasn't before Ruby nudged Kumo's side, grinning like she'd heard the biggest joke ever.

"Heh... 'Good travels, my fellow traveler of life?' Could you be any more cheesy?"

"Hmph... I will have you know that it comes from my favorite samurai film. I have to show it to you and the others when we find Bl-"

"What did you two call me?" Penny had, somehow, suddenly appeared before the two teens. Kumo nearly had a heart attack. Jumping back, he felt the sudden motion send the two gourds on his belt to the ground.

"Uh... What? If we offended you in some way, I-" Was all he got out, before the girl stepped up VERY close to him and Ruby, making him lean back.

' _Bad day for me to skip wearing a shirt!'_ "Uhh... hello there."

"Hi. Did you and her call me... Comrade? Friend? Did you mean that?" Her voice was now softer, as if she could barely believe such a thing. The two shared a look, then looked back at Penny with a shrug.

"...Yea, sure. I mean, why not?"

"Y...yea!"

Immediately, the girl grabbed them tightly and hugged them both.

"SENSATIONAL!"

"MY RIBS!"

"OW, OW OW! RUBY, QUICK, DISTRACT HER!"

The bone crunching hug was quickly dropped, as the girl began to bounce on her feet. Ruby, meanwhile, groaned and rubbed her sides, while Kumo gave a gasp and coughed. With his own painful moans, he clipped the gourds back to his belt, one as black as midnight with a red rope, one white as snow with a black cord.

"So, did you say you were looking for your friend? Is she missing? Hurt?" Now the girl seemed to be more interested in their friend. Slowly, a sweatdrop began to fall down his back, as Kumo questioned the good fortune of telling this girl they could be friends.

* * *

Yang sighed and popped her shoulders as she and Weiss walked out of their eighth Dust Shop. So far, they had not gotten ANY leads. In fact, the only thing that seemed to be on the minds of all the shop keepers was either the dust shipments coming in tonight or the White Fang striking their store. It was rather sad now, since no one seemed willing to trust the other. It was... rather disheartening to think so poorly. With a frown, Yang leaned on the doorframe as Weiss walked out side.

"Well that was a bust. Hmm... where could we go next to find her?"

Weiss kept silent. Her mind was so full, apparently, she would spill out her brain through her mouth if she spoke. Immediately, Yang began thinking about how Kumo would make a pun or something, or some witty retort to how silent she was. Instead, Yang felt a bit... cold.

"Do you even care if we find her?"

"Don't be stupid! Of course I care! I... I am just worried about what she will tell us when we find her. The innocent never run, Yang. The criminals of this world are unwilling to change, and that's the way the world works." Weiss kept her arms crossed, but now she looked even deeper in thought.

Yang, frowning, walked beside the girl with a sigh.

' _Sometimes the innocent are just afraid... that's why they run. I wish you could see that, Weiss.'_

As the duo walked down the path, she saw two kids run down the sidewalk, laughing as a third one, a girl, raced after them, pretending to be a Grimm. For some reason, the event reminded Yang of when Kumo had been chased by the massive Creeper... and she laughed.

"What is so funny?" Weiss gave a frown, her arms crossed even tighter as she looked at the Blonde Boxer. Yang only shook her head and sighed.

"I was just thinking about Team Building... heh, Blake and I had just gotten teamed up, and we were walking down the path. After a while, I started to tell her about Kumo and Ruby, and the next thing we know, Kumo is just running past, this big Creeper following behind him. It's like, two, three stories tall, and it's trying to eat him and it's so... heh..."

"He was WHAT?! Oh Lord Oum, he's with Ruby! Who knows what kind of danger they will get into!"

"Aw, come on, Weiss. How much trouble could they get into? Like I said, Kumo is responsible. It isn't like he's gonna go getting into fights with the White Fang by himself!"

* * *

Sun was sure of three things as he walked next to Blake:

1\. Kumo was going to kill him. He had made his best friend miss time with those three munchkin daughters that he loved to death. Sure, they weren't his real kids, but damned if he didn't do all the things a real dad did.

2\. Vale was pretty cool with Faunus. Sure, there was the occasional dirty look or bigot who would use a racist term, but overall, the people were nice. Mistral, being pretty old fashioned and stuffy, was way more polite to your face, but you could always feel that sense of being disliked.

3\. Blake Belladonna was the most beautiful girl he had ever set eyes on. And he'd take that to his grave before he would even speak that to Kumo. The man may have been his best friend, they may have been the two who raised three kids together... but there was no way in Hell he was telling him that he was attracted to the silent Blake.

The reason was simple: Kumo had what Sun called "Cupid Syndrome." If he smelled out even the slightest bit of romance, he would do everything in his power to get the two together. Usually, he did his magic and there would be a new couple. SOMETIMES, however... he didn't do so well. Sometimes, the two would end up staying friends. In the rarest of occasions, however, they would end up hating each other.

So, Sun was keeping his mouth shut. About THAT subject, anyway.

"So, where to next?" His dark grey eyes flicked over to Blake's yellow ones, as they walked down a sidewalk. The girl, giving a small frown, tapped her chin in a way that Sun found to be, quite literally, the most sexy thing he had ever seen in his life. Thank Oum she was NOT in her heat cycle, because then she'd have smelled out his attraction to her.

Public sex would be nice, but he'd like to lose his virginity with passion, not lust.

"Well... I am still not convinced it's the White Fang. I mean, they've never needed that much Dust before. It's... hmm... I don't know..." She looked... puzzled and worried. Sun, seeing the look, racked his brains with all his might, and then it hit him.

"...What if they did? I mean, like, what if they were planning something big? So big, it would be almost like a war? Then they would need to go someplace where there is a lot of Dust! And if it's NOT the White Fang, we can clear their names... a bit... kind of. Either way, you have your answer!"

' _Damn, I'm smart! Hehe... maybe I impressed her a lit_ -'

"But where could they go for that much dust? It would have to be someplace bigger than a store. Someplace that they'd know where a massive amount of Dust was..."

"Well, while the kids and I were stuck in the storage area of the ship, I overheard some sailors talking about a huge shipment of Dust coming in tonight."

"How huge?"

"HUGE. Big shipment from Schnee Dust Company. I think that would be our best bet."

Blake frowned, her finger tapping her chin as she thought to herself. Sun, meanwhile, had to suppress an urge to kiss her cheek. Seriously, she looked cute when she was thinking. Did all girls have to look so adorable when they thought?

"Hm... alright, that's a good start. Thank you Sun." Blake began to walk toward the dock, not seeing how Sun had jumped up into the air and clicked his heels, grinning like a fool. Nor did she see him take his scroll out and send a small someone.

* * *

Night was falling. Kumo knew that Velvet had probably fed and tucked his kids in a guest bedroom. He knew that she would help them by reading a story, like "The Dragon Knight and the Elven Princess". Smiling to himself, the covered up teen walked the group down one side walk, as Penny asked question after question about Blake.

"So, is Blake your friend as well, Kumo?"

"...Of a sort. We have not had time to really get to know each other. She and Ruby usually talk more. I have been focused on my studies and... other things."

"Ohhhh... So are you and Ruby dating?"

"Well, I- Wait what?!"

"P...Penny! N... no no, we are not dating!"

"But you two seem so... compatible!"

"C...can we please move on to some-" Was all Kumo got out of his mouth, when his scroll went off. Reaching down toward it, the teen frowned under his collar. As he flicked the screen toward his messages, Ruby and Penny stood there watching.

"Huh...? It's from Sun. 'Heading to the Docks. Blake and I have a plan. Don't worry.' ...Oh no, nothing at all to worry about. Just the fact that this is the first message we hear from him in days, involving either Blake or him. No, not at all should I be worried!" His teeth began to grit with anger, his sarcasm making his voice grow slightly louder with each word.

"Who is Sun? Is that a friend of yours and Ruby's, Kumo?"

For once, Kumo felt really glad that Penny was there. She could keep his anger turned down.

* * *

Yang and Weiss sighed and sat down on a bench near a park. So far, they had not gotten a single clue as to where the missing Blake had gone, and with Weiss off in La-La-Land, Yang was feeling a bit impatient. Her friend was missing, her sister and their shared... what ever he was, were off on their own, which she had to admit, made her feel a bit jealous, and worst of all, she couldn't even get to play with those cute little kids of Kumo's.

With a sigh, the Blonde brawler began to rub her temples, trying to think of something to get her mind off of things... when her scroll went off.

"Hmm? A message... oh, from Kumo! 'Heading to the Docks. Meet us half way. We have an addition.' ...An addition? Like, an extra person?" Now she'd gone from slightly worried to joyful... and now she was really confused. What the hell was going on?

* * *

Sun and Blake were in utter shock.

With a large transport bearing their symbol, the White Fang, THE White Fang, had come to the docks and were beginning to pack up the many crates of Dust that the boats from earlier in the day dropped off. Blake looked down right... horrified to see the group she had once been apart of was now stealing all this Dust. Yet, as Sun kept looking, she seemed... also sad.

"You didn't want it to be true, eh? You... didn't really think it was them?" Sun felt like giving her a hug, but he also knew (Thanks to Kumo's constant book reading of romance) that this wasn't always the best idea. Sometimes they would hug back, and sometimes they would kick you in the coconuts.

"No... somehow, I guess... I guess I knew it was true. I just didn't want to believe in it. Guess that's the youthful optimist in me... Oum, I feel so-"

"HEY! What's the hold up?!" Suddenly, out of the ship walked a red headed guy in the whitest tuxedo shirt that Sun had ever seen, as well as a pair of black pants. His head was adorned with the stupidest fedora he'd EVER seen, bar none. Over all, the guy looked like the contestant for "Biggest Douche in the World" contest. Holding a cigar in his mouth, he walked with a strange looking cane. He wasn't a Faunus, but the way he talked to the White Fang, he sure seemed like he was in charge.

"This isn't right... the White Fang never would take orders from a human! Especially one like him!" With that, Blake stood up and glared down at him, before jumping down over the edge toward the red head.

"What are you doing!?" ' _She's crazier than Kumo is!_ '

* * *

"This is our addition?"

Weiss looked the girl, Penny, over slowly, frowning as she did so. She wasn't TOO suspicious of the girl it seemed, but she did seem a bit off. However, that was not on her mind long, as Yang grinned and punched Kumo's shoulder gently (Once again, gently for her. For him, it probably felt a lot harder).

"So, big guy, how'd you find out about the docks? Did you flirt your way through some maid's heart? Or did you promise to give some noble woman your hand in marriage?" Her grin was only as big as Kumo's frown, as he realized she was using parts of "The Warrior's Lust" to tease him. Seems she had taken to the book like a duck to water, or a fly to horse shit.

Well, then, two could play THAT game...

"No, I had to dress as a woman and sneak through two dozen guards as they wolf whistled at me, one even offering to show me a wild night of passion if I were to wish it. I then grumbled about how they had no idea how they were flirting with their commanding officer."

Yang fell over laughing, as Weiss palmed her face. Ruby blinked, unable to understand the joke, as Penny frowned, her head tilted in confusion.

"But Kumo, you received a message on your scroll. How could you have done all that while we watched you grumble about Sun being a, quote, 'ape-assed, blonde shit throwing, self gratifying pleasure hound?' End quote."

Kumo felt his whole face turn the shade of red that could match Ruby's hood, while Weiss and Yang stared at Penny, then at Kumo.

"...he pissed me off. Come on, come on! Let's get going before something stup-" Was what came from his mouth, right as a massive explosion echoed through the town.

"Oh no..." Ruby muttered, looking toward the docks with a fearful expression. Kumo sighed and rubbed his head.

"Too late... let's get going."

* * *

Standing in front of the Red head, Sun glared at him. Blake and he had been fighting. However, when she'd gotten hurt, he'd lost his sense of self preservation. He'd attacked the White Fang, enjoying the fight with no small satisfaction. He had to admit, Kumo did have a point: Kicking ass and causing pain could be pretty... fun.

However, Torchwick, the red head that Sun recognized when he'd gotten closer, lifted his cane and gave a cold grin... then fired at the chain holding a large crate overhead. Immediately, Sun realized what was going to happen. With a shove to Blake, he got her away in time, and prepared a dodge... when he saw the wire.

With the sound of hundreds of wires being pulled at once, the crate suddenly changed direction, heading toward the large storage building. With his glove pulled off, Kumo had helped out at the last second, and now was bending himself backward to dodge the incoming missile.

"Thanks, Kumo! I owe you big time!"

"You always do!" With that, the teen gave a grin and thumbs up, then rushed forward. Behind him, the red hooded girl, the blonde, and the white suited teen had all joined up to him. The blonde then cocked her weapon, which had been her bracelets apparently, and began to fire down at Torchwick.

The red head male ducked and dodged to the side, glaring at her.

"THIS is why I hate bitchy little blondes! Ah, and there is little red! Isn't it past your bed time?" His insults did nothing to the girls, but Kumo gave a glare. Sun immediately knew what he was thinking:

* * *

' _I am gonna pound this fucker into the ground for that! NO ONE TALKS TO MY FRIENDS LIKE THAT!'_

With a grit of his teeth, Kumo raced forward, holding his swords in his knuckles. Behind him, Ruby and Yang had taken to firing at the other White Fang. However, doing so had left them open... and then Kumo felt his whole body run cold. Torchwick had his cane ready to fire at them...!

"...no... NO!" Kumo raced forward to them, his eyes going wide. He couldn't lose them too! He cared too much to lose his friends! "RUBY, YANG! GET OUT OF THERE!"

The two girls turned... right as Torchwick fired. His blast flew into the crates and sent a massive one soaring toward them. Kumo felt his blood run ice cold. There was no way his wires could pull it, he was too close. There was only one option left. The only one left... and his least favorite:

He would have to let THEM out.

' _...Ruby... Yang... I would rather you be disgusted by me, than to let you suffer or die! So... Almighty Oum, hear me now: Grant this stupid fool the strength to live beyond the hatred his friends will lay on him!_ '

As he prayed, Kumo reached to his jacket zipper... and pulled it down, as his other hand pulled those glasses off his face.

* * *

Yang and Ruby heard Kumo scream, his eyes full of fear. They heard the shot, saw it whizz over their heads and slam the crates. They were going to die, when those crates landed. There was no avoiding them. So, the two sisters clung to each other, praying for it to be painless. As they did so, one thought clung to their minds:

 _'We love you... Kumo...!'_

However, the sound that came next... was not the sound of death. It was a loud, harsh crashing sound.

As if claws had just grabbed the crate.

Slowly, Yang opened her eyes, sure to find themselves in darkness... and instead, they were alive. In fact, they were tightly holding each other, awaiting the painful crush that did not come. The crate, hanging over them, was suspended. However, no wire had come out, no sound of Kumo straining to pull... nothing.

Then they became aware of someone else under the crate. Someone right beside them, kneeling down with the crate being held by his own strength. Slowly, Ruby opened her eyes as well, and looked up into Kumo's face. His glasses were gone... and now, she could see his eyes.

His real eyes.

Instead of beautiful emerald pools surrounded by white... she saw a darkness covering one warm red eye, and one blazing yellow eye. His eyes were looking into both Yang and Ruby's with... sadness.

"...I hid myself from you all... Because I was a coward. I was afraid to show you what I was... but now... now I will fight as who I am..." His voice held that timber of strength, but now it was enforced by... a deep caring. Slowly, he began to stand up, looking only slightly winded and strained, and this time... this time they saw what had laid under that jacket.

What things he'd hidden from them.

Kumo did not have just one pair of arms. In fact, Kumo wasn't even human.

Kumo Ayakashi... was a Faunus. A Faunus with six arms, covered in black, glossy Chitlin. His first pair of arms began at the shoulder, where the skin was ended abruptly by the black, armor like skin. Each of his muscles were surrounded by chitlin, where it ended at his... no, not his fingers. Kumo did not possess human fingers, but claws. Powerfully sharp claws. His next pair of arms, longer than the first, were at where his middle would be. The last pair, the longest of all, were just above his waist.

But that wasn't the only addition. No, for the second addition was swinging behind him, the stinger deeply penetrating the steel and holding it with enormous strength. Easily reaching over 20 feet long, with each segment about a foot long and seven inches wide, the powerful scorpion tail was buried deep in the steel underside.

With a grunt, Kumo strained and threw the crate toward the other ones, as he turned from a stunned Yang and Ruby.

"You two wait here... I gotta... handle this."

"K...Kumo..." Ruby began, her eyes looking directly at him. She felt only a little afraid, but not OF him. No, she felt... scared for him. He had just revealed himself to the two girls whom he shared closest bonds with, just to save them.

"...I'm sorry."

* * *

Kumo walked slowly toward Torchwick, cracking his knuckles slowly. The White Fang members slowly began to back up, terror in their exposed faces. However, Torchwick looked ready to shit himself, scream, or run like hell. As the formerly hidden Faunus walked closer, amid the surprised looks from Weiss and Blake, as well as the injured Sun trying to stop him, Torchwick did two of them.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Screaming in a high pitched way, he turned and fled, leaving the other members behind in a dust cloud. However, as they tried to run, Kumo lifted his hand, as threads began to slide out from black, metal rings around his shoulders and arm beginnings.

"You hurt my best friend. You threaten my team mates. You nearly kill those I care about! YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN FROM ME!?" The threads began to group up, forming large spike ended ropes, as they coiled in the air, as if with a will of their own.

" **NO ONE!** " With that, his teeth exposed to show the much longer than normal canines he had, Kumo stepped closer toward the White Fang members.

" **THREATENS!** " With that, his ropes slammed the crates around them into a large blockade, sealing the aircrafts off from the other White Fang members, save Torchwick.

" **MY TEAMMATES**!" Now full of rage, Kumo dashed forward and slammed his fist into the closest WF member, sending him flying into a crate hard. He'd held his strength back against the students at beacon. He'd even held back against the Grimm. He did so, because either he wanted to enjoy the Grimm suffering or to leave the others with... lesser injuries. Not so much now, as the WF member made a very clear imprint on the side of the crate.

Jumping toward the group, he yelled and began to pummel down on the next one, slamming his fists hard into the man's chest. The impact was very harsh: The only concrete left below the man had become a small crater, as he wrapped the cords around another WF member. Pulling him in with a glare, he pulled his fists back... and head butted the man hard. A small crack was heard, as the WF fell with out a single sound.

One WF member lifted his gun toward Kumo... and received the stinger through his hands, clean through. Screaming in pain, he was kicked hard in the face, and sent to join the man still indented in the crate.

"None of you are gonna leave here intact... that's my god damn fucking Guarantee... You fucking, pig shit eating, two faced, cum guzzling, thunder cunted, no balled, insignificant sons of whores! **I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR HURTING MY TEAM!** "

* * *

Yang stared as Kumo's fists slammed and crashed into each member, as he listed off so many new ways to insult and slander someone, she felt... slightly embarrassed. He could have a mouth on him when he was pissed off. But more than that... she was happy. He'd come to her rescue, and Ruby's, and this time, he'd even risked being hated. He'd risked it all... for them.

* * *

Weiss felt her whole being go from ice cold to red hot. She'd never been around someone who could speak so... vulgar things about one's own mother before! Yet, he'd done it out of rage.

Not out of the rage for losing something he owned.

Not out of the rage for being mocked.

No. This rage was for the rage of nearly losing his friends, his teammates. He'd... he'd even risked her calling him a monster. Sure, he was a faunus... but actually, she could see benefits to those hands. Plus, that stinger was a very good self defense object. And last, but not least, he'd even fought for her. To her ears, she'd heard team mates... and that included her.

No wonder Yang and Ruby loved him. He was nearly a perfect man as it was. The only flaw, however, was his mouth.

* * *

After what felt like hours of rage coursing through his veins, the WF fell to their knees, completely out cold. Kumo panted and wiped his forehead. He'd never been able to let loose before, not for a long time. He felt... a lot better, now that he could focus. Sure, his torso was covered in damp sweat that would make him smell like the under side of a Goliath. Yes, he'd just given up the one thing he'd swore no one but Sun would know...

But Yang AND Ruby were safe.

And with that, pulling up his jacket, shame filled his face.

 _'...I better go get ready to leave...'_

Slowly, Kumo turned to the others... and was pounced on by Ruby. Her thin, lithe arms held close to his neck, as she sobbed and sniffed. She was crying... why?

"Kumo... I was so scared... th... there was something I wanted to say, for so long... something that I... that we need to tell you."

Slowly, Yang walked over, a small smile on her face.

"You big jerk... you gotta play the hero, eh? Save us all, then go kick some serious ass... Heh... but.. she's right. Kumo, we need to say something... because we never wanna have that come up and not let you know."

The teen frowned, his eyes darting from Ruby to Yang, then to the small smiling Weiss. What were they talking ab-?

"Kumo..."

"Mr. Hands-some..."

"We are in love with you."

* * *

The flight on the airship back to Beacon was... mind stimulating. Kumo had never had girls fall for him before. Now, as Ruby and Yang slept on his shoulders, with Sun and Blake exhausted in another set, and Weiss' head bobbing up and down slowly from sleep deprivation, Kumo felt... happy.

With a smile on his face, he slipped his arms over them both and sighed to himself.

 _'...4 years... maybe it won't be so bad. After all... maybe we can make this work. I do have enough arms to hold them both AND my children...'_

* * *

 ** _You guys have NO IDEA how long I have been waiting to show off what Kumo really was! It was like, my biggest dream EVER._**

 ** _Ok, ok, so what is he?_**

 ** _Kumo Ayakashi is a hybrid Faunus: Half Spider (8 arms and one of his eyes) and Half Scorpion (Tail and the other eye). His fangs are... more of the blend coming together, so... yea._**

 ** _Wow, this is the first time... I ever finished a story! Holy crap!_**

 ** _So, uh... Review, and tell me what you'd like me to name this harem:_**

 ** _Golden Desert Rose, Red Hot Sand, OR... Golden Blood Web?_**

 ** _Yea, that last one is not the best... I can't make good names..._**

 ** _ANYWAY! Review, and favorite! And also... this is just the end of PART 1~!_**


End file.
